Accidental Blessings
Genesis 26: Any why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge.
Abraham is one of the great heroes of the Bible so it doesn’t surprise us that his son, Isaac, seems pale in comparison to his colorful father. Isaac, in fact, is better known for things that happen to him than for things he does. As a child, Ishmael picks on him. On the mountain, he’s the object of his father’s greatest test of faith. Later on, a trusted servant gets a wife for him. He keeps getting pushed around by the people of the area, and then, as a poor blind man, he’s deceived by his wife and son. In some ways, he’s a historical place holder between Abraham and Jacob. I don’t want to be too hard on Isaac. None of the things I mentioned about him would tend to produce a vibrant, powerful leader. Can’t you imagine him on a modern psychiatrist’s couch? Talk about a person with issues! Still, we see that God is with Isaac blessing him and multiplying his wealth. The scripture says the Lord does this because of Abraham. All the blessings the Lord promised his father spill over onto Isaac and are then passed on to the next generation. This is an example of God working according to his purposes and in view of the big picture. I’m reminded today that sometimes I’m the recipient of what might be called “accidental blessings.” I’m not saying that God doesn’t intentionally allow them into my life, but just that the blessing has a lot more to do with the obedience of others than it does me, or that I’m blessed because of God’s larger plan and not really because of anything specific about me. Such realizations ought to cause me to be humbly thankful for good things that come into my life.
Take away: When I’m blessed I need to be humbly thankful and realize that, at times, they aren’t about me at all.