Believing in God's Blessing On Your Life

Here is my prayer for you today. Dear Lord, bless those who read this Bible study. I pray that these words bring them encouragement and helps them keep moving towards their goals. Amen.

Today I am going to ask you to think about how you feel about God's timing in your lives.

Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Have I asked God for something over and over but felt as if He wasn’t listening?
2. Did you settle for something because you didn’t believe God was going to bring you what you really wanted?

I imagine if you are like me you have felt this more than you would like to admit. It is hard to be so human, isn't it? Well, we are not alone in these feelings. God does answer in his own timing for our lives.

But I can assure you that God longs to bless us if we ask and truly believe He will.

Remember the Store of Abraham and Sarah.

Genesis 16:1-16 & 18:1-15.
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.” 6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. 7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: “ Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” 13 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi;[a] observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.


Genesis 18: 1-15
1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. 4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”They said, “Do as you have said.” 6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. 8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. 9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.” 10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”


God promises if we ask Him, He will give us not only all we need but also the desires of our hearts. Abraham and Sarah asked God for an heir that would carry on their legacy. After Sarah was passed the childbearing years, she lost her faith that God would provide her a son. Who would believe that a woman 90 years old would be able to have a child. She decided to take matters into her own hands and sent her maidservant Hagar to her husband. This did not bless God plan but created unrest and conflict. Imagine how Hagar felt. Sarah asked her to do something that she didn't want to do. But, God in his timing did bless Abraham and Sarah with their son Isaac. See how God worked in their lives. Unfortunately, Sarah needed to have a little more faith in God. She was rewarded by God but Hagar also paid the price for Sarah's doubt.

James 4:2 says, “You have not because you ask not.” If we never ask God for what we need or want, how can we expect Him to answer us? That reminds me of the story of the old man who was complaining that God never answered his prayers about winning the lottery. When his friend asked him how much money he had wasted on lottery tickets, he answered "Oh I never buy lottery tickets." Crazy old man - God will answer your prayers but you have to be willing to do your part. Of course that is just a silly story but you get the idea. You need to do your part when you ask God for something.

Is there something in your life you need or want but haven’t asked God for it? Ask Him now. But, trust him to do it in his timing. Of course this doesn't mean that we can ask for things that won't bless the Lord. Sometimes, the answer will be "no" or it won't look like what we think it should look like. But, it will be what we need.

God promises us His best, but we have to trust Him to bring it in His time. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the night sky, but instead of waiting on God’s promise, Abraham took his own steps to insure he would have an heir. Have you ever tried to get your own blessing outside of God’s timing? It doesn't make us happy.

While we are limited to our own resources to fulfill our needs and desires, God holds the entire universe in His hands and promises to bless us from all He has (Phil. 4:19). 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.


Jesus said in Luke 18:27, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God." Have you ever asked God for something that the world around you thought was impossible? How did He answer your prayer?

What are you currently asking God for that logic and reason say is impossible? It is amazing to me that God loved me so much that he sent Jesus to die on a cross and rose again on the third day that he took away my sin so I could spend eternity with him in glory BUT I doubt that he can supply my needs and desires. Why do I do that? It seems so silly when you put it in to context.

Sometimes our friends and family will feed our doubt about God providing for us. What should we do in those situations? That is why we need to surround ourselves with people who will help feed our spiritual growth not drag us down. Read chapters one and two in the book of Job. Think about how Job reacted to the loss of all he had. Would you have been able to trust that God would heal you and bless you again? I look at my life and realize how incredibly blessed I am. My life is not perfect but it is a beautiful life.

Look at how Job’s wife responds in chapter two, verse nine. Have you ever had family members that “encouraged” you this way?

Later on in Job, we see his friends’ responses to his plight. Are your friends supportive, encouraging you to wait on God’s blessing? What steps can you take to develop friendships with people who are more spiritually-minded?

For God to bless us, we must be obedient to His Word. Disobedience will always be an obstacle to receiving His blessings, no matter how small the offense. We must take great care to correct and repent of any disobedient behavior before we anticipate His blessings.
Is there anything in your life right now that might be hindering you from receiving God’s blessings? If so, write a prayer of confession and choose to turn away from that sin. Disobedience to God may seem profitable at the time, but it will never bring about His blessings.

God promises over and over in the Scriptures to bless us, even beyond what we can imagine. In order for Him to fulfill that promise, however, we have to truly believe that He will. God’s promises may seem illogical and downright impossible at times. But for the Creator of the universe, nothing is impossible.