” The blessing of the Lord—it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it].” ~ Prov. 10:22 Amp
“And He said to them, How many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they [had looked and] knew, they said, Five [loaves] and two fish. Then He commanded the people all to recline on the green grass by companies. So they threw themselves down in ranks of hundreds and fifties [with theregularity of an arrangement of beds of herbs, looking like so many garden plots]. And taking the five loaves and two fish, He looked up to heaven and, praising God, gave thanks and broke the loaves and kept on giving them to the disciples to set before the people; and He [also] divided the two fish among [them] all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve [small hand] baskets full of broken pieces [from the loaves] and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men.” ~ Mk. 6:38 – 44 AMP
How you walk, Not where.
So you wanna walk in God’s blessing for your life huh? Well hang on to your hat because God’s plan and purpose for us as His children is incredibly good! Are you currently experiencing a trial or sorrow? Does that make you question the path that you are on is the path that God has ordained. God is good and He is indeed better than a GPS system. If you have, or even think you may have, taken a false step in life, trust God. He is able to reroute you in a cinch. All that said, what if you are on the right path? What if you have not veered from where God has ordained you walk? In the new testament more times than not I find the Apostles telling us not to be careful where we walk but how we walk (Eph. 5:15) . As we are more careful as to how we walk, the where won’t even necessarily matter. We know that as His sheep we know His voice and the voice of the stranger We will not follow. Getting caught in the complexities of overspiritualization is most times only smoke and mirrors put forth to us (by the adversary) to keep us from being effective as a believer right where we are. The enemy wants us so distracted, introspective and self – centered that wherever we are, we are not a blessing to others but a constant distraction and burden.
The Bread of God
Something to consider. Your life is a special gift to the world to bring about the life of God. We as members of Christ’s body are part of The Unleavened Lump of God . We are part of Christ’s body here on the earth. As such we are to continue the works of the savior in the same miraculous saving way that he did on when he was on earth before His crucifixion. Our lives being exchanged lives are lived as unto God and daily we have the privilege of surrendering our rights, hopes and dreams into His hands. For us to hold on to our desires, hopes and dreams is to lose them ultimately but as we trust them into God’s mighty hand we will find Him bring about His increase in the situation.
Multiplication, Not Addition
God’s manner of increase is not addition but multiplication. This multiplication always comes about through a seed and a seed always means a death of some sort. As we set out to pursue God and and seek the fulfillment of the vision God has put in our hearts we must keep in mind that God’s way is not our way. Death then Resurrection. This is the order of God. Resurrection life is always in God’s order. Anything that is merely of the natural order must first die so that God alone can be glorified and shown strong through Resurrection power. What am i saying? As much as we hold on to what we may see in our eyes to be a good or even a God thing we must eventually see it’s death if we want that thing to continue.
No Sorrow Added
How does the blessing of the Lord make rich but add NO sorrow? It multiplies and does not add one by one. What about the adding no sorrow aspect? As we look back at Abraham, the faith father, do we see sorrow? Absolutely! Sorrow of the most acute type must have gripped the heart of Abraham as he got the verdict from God that he was to take his only son and sacrifice him. There you have it. Does this make the above stated proverb irrelevant? Absolutely not! Abraham passed through the sorrow and was found a faithful man. In this sense the sorrow was not added and Abraham after passing through the sorrow did not experience one bit of regret. Rather Abraham was doubly confirmed in himself by God as one who lived in the fear (reverential awe) of Him.
How God is Glorified
Our Lord knew as a matter of fact in His spirit that he would die and be resurrected and he spoke this emphatically with His disciples. Our Lord did not cling to His earthly life but set the spiritual pace for us all. The order of the day: “you want to come after me, deny yourself, and carry your cross daily”. The cross was frightful from a merely human point of view. From God’s point of view the cross was the instrument and altar where His Love & Justice would be manifested to the world. In the feeding of the five thousand I wonder if our Lord had in mind his death and ultimately His life to come as upheld solely by the power of God. I wonder if the Father spoke to Him in a whisper that said, “Son, this is the illustration of your life. broken and given to the world that they may live.”
Life to many
As believers we will undergo trials and hard times but remember, we are a part of God’s Lump the breaking is only for the purpose of God bringing life to all the world through His life in us. Jesus gave thanks for the bread (blessing it), then broke it and gave it to the disciples who passed it out to all who were there. Beloved, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials coming your way. Realize that persecution comes on account of the word (Mk. 4:17) but through the trials that bring about the breaking God is increasing your life and these trials will be used for the purpose of bringing life to many!