Blessings that bring a SMILE

 

Do you ever experience one of those moments where God is so good to you that you break out into a smile or possibly even laugh out loud?

I hope that those moments are numerous and that you daily find things to smile about and give praise to God for.

Just 2 days ago, I experienced a moment like this. Allow me to divert from my normal blog post writing to share it with you.

As I was going about my deliveries for the day, this particular day being absolutely crazy due to the excessive amount of freight that had come into the depo in my absence over the Christmas period, I was down to my last 3 drops for the day.

These deliveries were to take me 20kms out of town to our nearby RAAF base. The weather had been overcast all day with a couple of close calls of intermittent showers threatening to saturate the cardboard boxed freight bouncing around in the back of my trusty, old Triton ute.

As I prepared to leave the depo, I looked to the skies and saw some very ominous dark clouds in the direction I was to go.

I decided to risk it and head out anyway.

As I drove along, I began to pray and ask the Lord if he could just hold off the rain for the short time I needed to make my deliveries.

God is so good.

As I dropped off my last box and headed back to the highway intersection that would take me back into town, the heavens opened, and the rain poured down in torrents.

I immediately smiled and laughed out loud at God’s goodness. What an amazing God that he would hear such an insignificant prayer, prayed from a heart of faith and sincerity. That he would stop the heavens from sending down blinding rain, and keep my freight dry was a cause for rejoicing and brought a song of praise to my lips.

I was reminded of the many examples in Scripture where God answered the prayers of ordinary people, like you and me.

And then I began to think about my seemingly small prayer. I only asked for a break in the weather, but in actuality, it really was a big prayer. I asked God to stop the heavens from sending down their raindrops. I asked God to control the weather. For me. Just for me. Just for a short time.

And in hindsight, I realise that my asking was an example of this verse found in Psalms.

Psalm 81:10 KJV - I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

God wants us to pray BIG! He loves to answer big prayers. Remember the promise we read in Ephesians.

Ephesians 3:20 KJV - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

God doesn’t just do and give what we ask or think, but He goes beyond. Over and above. He gives exceeding abundantly above.  We can’t even begin to understand what God can do.

There are many examples in the Bible of people praying BIG prayers. Take a look at Joshua.

Joshua 10:12-14 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

Do you realise that it was Joshua who asked for God to make the sun stand still? It wasn't that God just did it. It says that Joshua 'spake' and 'he said'. As in, Joshua asked God to make the sun stand still! Did you catch that? He asked for God to make the sun stand still? My mind boggles at his faith in God. For him to ask such an enormous thing of God with hope and expectation of receiving it! And God granted it!

Talk about praying BIG!

Then take Elisha for example.

2 Kings 2:9-14 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

He asked a BIG thing and God granted his request. I would have loved to have been there as he smote the waters. I can just imagine the thunder in his voice as he cried “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?”. Ba Boom! And the waters parted, and he went on to do double the miracles that his predecessor Elijah did.

God really can and does answer prayer.

My little prayer of faith, that in reality was a big ask, was answered. And answered so perfectly that there was no doubt in my mind that God had orchestrated it with precision.

Jeremiah 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

As Jeremiah says, there is nothing too hard for God. He delights in giving good gifts to his children. He loves to answer our prayers of faith. He longs to put a smile on your face and a laugh on your lips. He wants to hear your words of praise and rejoicing.

God answers over and above all that we ask or think. He doesn’t just answer, He ANSWERS! And He doesn’t just bless, He BLESSES! His grace and mercy are inexhaustible. Unfathomable. Immeasurable. Incalculable. Incomprehensible.

How good is God?

 

Psalm 27:13 KJV

 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.