Blessed to Reveal Our Savior
By Jennifer Slattery
“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us—so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among nations.” Psalm 67:1-2
I’m quick to pray for blessings—for myself, my marriage, our finances, our daughter. There’s not an area of my life I wouldn’t love to receive God’s favor, but to what end? If I’m not careful, I can easily slip into self-elevation and obsession.
But Scripture tells me I exist to glorify God. Whatever blessings He grants have the same purpose. That’s not to say He doesn’t enjoy giving His children good things, but the best gift mankind will ever receive is unhindered access to God Himself. It only makes sense, then, that God would use our blessings to reveal His heart. As the psalmist in today’s passage says, “Be gracious to us so that others may know Your ways.”
One night, I spoke to a packed-out room of women. The venue was beautiful, music amazing, and I left feeling affirmed and appreciated.
Later, reviewing the night, I felt blessed God had provided the opportunity and excited by the thought of what He might do in the hearts of those who came. Soon, pride kicked in, shifting my focus off of my Savior and onto myself—as if that blessing and the gifts God provided me with were about me!
But before those roots of idolatry took hold, a song came on the radio that challenged me to realign my heart. Through the lyrics, the musician asked God to remove all his selfishness, pride, and everything, apart from Christ, that he clung to, replacing those things with a love and passion for God Himself.
Through that song, God invited me to make the same request so that I could view everything, my blessings included, through the lens of His redemptive story being told, through us, each day.
May you, also, ask Jesus to help you view every gift God provides with gratitude, using each one to point others to your Savior, the greatest blessing of all.
Jennifer Slattery is a writer, editor, speaker, and the founder of Wholly Loved Ministries. She writes for Crosswalk, is the author of eight contemporary novels, and helped write Wholly Loved’s Bible study based on the life of Sarai (Gen. 12-23) titled Becoming His Princess, releasing in the spring/summer of 2019. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall outings with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband. Visit her online at jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com.
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