Have you ever wondered what blessings you are missing out on because of disobedience??? I am not talking about a “major” disobedience like murder or stealing or anything like that. I am just talking about not doing something that God is tugging at your heart to do. Or something that you know you should do but just don’t feel like it….
This question about missed blessings would normally not be one that would even occur to me, but something that happened this weekend made me ask myself this very question.
I was feeling very lazy this past Sunday morning. (Yes, this is Cary’s blog, not Marilyn’s. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word “lazy”!) 
We had had a busy day the day before and it felt so nice to sit around the house with nothing to do. I didn’t want to shower, I didn’t want to fix my hair, I didn’t want to do anything to make myself in any way presentable to the world outside of my house. All I wanted to do was read the paper or maybe read the new book I just bought on my nook. (Love that thing, BTW!) However, it was Sunday morning and of course Sunday morning means one thing. Church. Worship. I had a million excuses not to go – we have an interim pastor who is only going to be there a couple more weeks, plus I know for a fact a lot of my friends were out of town on summer vacation – who would notice if I wasn’t there?? (I can hear you as you are reading this saying, “um…God would notice… Duh!”). Plus it was Father’s Day and it was hot outside and I would have to get my kids ready for church, etc. You get the idea – I had a lot of excuses.
But, you know what? I decided to get off my lazy bum and get ready and go to church. (I do admit to not washing my hair, but please don’t hold that against me!) So the family and I loaded up into the hot truck that had been sitting out in the 105 degree heat and fought the (what felt like) 80 mile-an-hour winds and drove the 5 miles or so to church. We sat down in the pew, all wind-blown and sweaty. Me, with my unwashed (but brushed!) hair, my 8 year old son with his mismatched clothes, (he took great effort in picking out his clothes – I didn’t have the heart to tell him he didn’t match), my 4 year old daughter with her plethora of plastic jewelry and my handsome hubby in his blue jeans and sneakers. We were far from perfect – but we were there! We made it to church!
So what did God do?? He blessed me! PTL! God is so good! How did he bless me you ask?? I am in the process of writing a speech to give at a women’s retreat in November. I just found out the topic last week – Christian Action. I have been praying every day for God to help me with this speech. I was given a good outline, but I need to make the speech my own and really think about the topic and what it means to me. So guess what our pastor’s sermon was on this past Sunday??? Yep, you guessed it – Christian Action!!! The Pastor talked about Holy Discontent (check out the book by Bill Hybels) and how God gives us a passion to care about the things/people that He cares about. Not everyone’s passion is the same, but everyone has one – some people just need to search for theirs more than others. This God-given passion leads us to do God’s work here on earth – to be His hands and feet. To be Christians in Action. Isn’t God good??!!??! He blessed my obedience of coming to church with a message that was an answer to my prayer. I still have a lot of work to do and prayer time to spend in regards to my speech, but this was a great starting point to get the ball rolling. And it gave me even more assurance that God will bring it all together.
What would have happened if I had decided not to go to church on Sunday? The world would not have ended. God would still love me. I may not have even been missed at church by any of my church family. But I would have missed out on the blessing of the message God had for me. Not only the ideas the sermon gave me to incorporate into my speech, but the knowledge that God heard my prayers and responded in such a personal way. And His response was one that I couldn’t miss! It was like God smacked me upside the head and said “Cary, this is for you!” Don’t you love that our Heavenly Father is so personal?!! And don’t we all need to be smacked upside the head sometimes?!?
I thank God for smacking me upside the head this weekend and for reminding me of his provision and love for me. God wants to bless us. But sometimes we have to make the first move.
Comments on: "Missed Blessings" (1)
I love your blog, I love your honesty. I had a church moment Sunday also. I had to be obedient and I was shaking in my boots. But it’s better to obey the Lord. I’m glad you did and went to church and got your blessing, God bless you!