PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

The Blessing is Greater Than Our Lack

Brothers, if God brings us to the point of seeing that everything in God's work depends upon His blessing, it will bring about a basic change in our labor for God. We would not consider how many people, how much money, or how much bread we have. We would say we do not have enough, but the blessing is sufficient. The blessing meets the need that we cannot meet. Although we cannot measure up to the size of the need, the blessing is greater than our lack. When we see this, the work will have a basic change. In every matter we must look at the blessing more than we consider the situation. Methods, considerations, human wisdom, and clever words are all useless. In God's work we should believe in and expect His blessing. Many times we are careless and damage the work, but this is not a problem. If the Lord gives us a small blessing, we can get through any problem.

We truly hope that we would not make mistakes or speak and act loosely in the work. When we have the Lord's blessing, however, it seems that we cannot err even when we are wrong. Sometimes it seems that we have made a serious mistake, but with God's blessing the result is not really an error. I once said to Brother Witness that if we had the Lord's blessing, the things we did right would be right and the things we did wrong would be right as well. Nothing could damage the blessing.

Eliminating the Barriers Which Prevent His Blessing

The basic concern today is that we must learn to live in a way that does not hinder God's blessing. Some habits force God to withhold His blessing, and these must be eliminated. Some temperaments keep God from blessing, and these must be done away with. We must learn to believe in God's blessing, rely on it, and eliminate the barriers which prevent us from receiving it....

If the Lord can get through in us, the Lord's blessing will be greater than our capacity. Once God said to the Israelites, "Prove Me, if you will, by this .... whether I will open to you the windows of heaven and pour out blessing for you until there is no room for it" (Malachi 3:10). God is still saying this today. The normal life of a Christian is a life of blessing, and the normal work of a Christian is a work of blessing. If we do not receive blessing, we should say, "Lord, perhaps I am the problem."

Living On The Earth By Expecting The Lord's Blessing

There are definite requirements for receiving the Lord's blessing. It does not come by accident or luck. God has His ways and works according to His principles. God likes certain conditions and does not like others. Esau was very good, but God did not like him. Jacob was not good, but God liked him. God has His own reasons. If a person does not receive God's blessing, there is a reason for it. If we do not receive God's blessing, we should not push the responsibility for it onto the situation or environment. There is always a reason for not being blessed. If we could be brought to the point in which we wholeheartedly hope for His blessing and wholeheartedly ask Him to show us the reason for not being blessed, God's work would have a great future. I really hope that we could live on the earth by expecting the Lord's blessing. Nothing is as important as God's blessing. The results of the work are in the blessing.

...We may be unable to eliminate all our weaknesses, but we must ask God to have mercy on us so that we would be those who are able to receive His blessing. We should say to the Lord, "This vessel is weak, but forbid that it should be too shallow or too small to contain Your blessing." Even though we are shallow and small, we are still able to contain His blessing. God's blessing and gifts are His work. Thus, we hope God would have mercy on us.

Not Right or Wrong, But God's Blessing

God's blessing is like a bird that will only fly from the outside into a room by itself. When it is at the window, we cannot call it to come in. If it comes in, however, it is very easy to chase away. God will bless what He wants to bless; we cannot force Him to do anything. Like the bird, it is difficult to lure in and easy to chase away. With just a little carelessness, we can chase the blessing away.

Over the past two or three years, I have observed our co-workers doing many things. One co-worker said something to another co-worker, and they had an argument. He was absolutely right in what he said and did, but in my heart, I wanted to say, "Brother, you are right, but should we behave according to right and wrong? Or should we behave according to what will bring in God's blessing?" We often may do something right, but what can we do if God does not bless us when we do things right? We should not ask whether our every action is right or wrong. Instead, we should ask whether we have God's blessing....

In God's work He will not bless what is wrong, but He will not bless what is right either. When we stand together in one accord, the blessing comes. Therefore, I want us to know that it is a very serious matter when the brothers argue with each other. We may be absolutely right in the matter, but the blessing will stop! Brothers, let me solemnly warn about speaking loosely or thinking that it is good enough just to be right. May the Lord have mercy on us. The brothers have to be careful about speaking among themselves and criticizing one another. It does not matter if we are right. If we are right and God does not bless us, what is the use of being right?...If we miss God's blessing, everything is finished.

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