Divine Protection and Blessing

UV 819/10,000 Divine Protection and Blessing “ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.” Genesis 32 v 10 The Lord protects us not because we are worthy or deserving of His care and love but because we are His children. Jacob described himself as a servant of the Living God. He humbled himself in so doing and sought the Lord’s protection. But we who live in this year of grace have crossed the Jordan and made the transition to the promised land as we are children of God by the grace of Jesus. The Lord revealed recently, “ I have protected you and your family from accidents,disasters, post mortem, biopsy, courts .. as you are my children.” He has preserved us as the apple of His eye. His eye or His focus is always on us. He is always ready to shower us abundantly with the blessings of His kindness and faithfulness. These days new age philosophers like Deepak Chopra talk much about mindfulness- mindfulness about what? It cannot be an empty, meandering mindfulness. Instead, we should be mindful about our Father’s kindness and faithfulness. When we are so mindful, we too will become like the Father-kind and faithful. A fear had begun to prey upon the mind of Jacob as he saw the approaching armed band led by his brother Esau. His guilt at having deceived his brother began to feed his fear. All that he had achieved and all that he owned, his family and his herds were at stake. At this juncture, he remembers His master Jehovah and seeks His protection. When fear preys upon our minds about our mortality or the safety of our loved ones, we must turn to the Lord in prayer. But, now we do not turn in fear to our master Jehovah but we turn in prayer to our loving Father in Heaven thanks to the transformation Jesus brought about in our relationship with God. True, He is our awesome Master, King, Lord but He is also our loving Father. The Lord will bless and multiply the groups or organisations that we belong to even as He had multiplied Jacob’s family, followers and herds. His human resources, economic resources as well as his monetary resources were blessed and multiplied. Biblical Economics or the Excenomics that every believer should believe in implies that we seek first the blessing of the Lord upon us and our own. It is not just unseen market forces of demand and supply that determine profits but it is the unseen hand of the Lord upon our lives that multiplies our resources and our impact. When we are blessed, the multiplication of our human resources, our economic resources and our financial resources, the multiplication of our abilities, talents and skills will also follow. It is the blessing of the Triune God that makes us successful, healthy, purposeful and joyful. I always remember my father started with just a blue steel trunk on which his name is painted just as Jacob said that he had started his innings with just a staff. We will face Jordans or challenges as Jacob did. Every time we face a Jordan, we need to rely or lean on the staff of prayer intermingled with the Word of God. The Lord will set up a “Mahanaim” around us- a double camp like that of Jacob’s and that of the angels. Jacob did not throw his own prudence to the winds. He acted with tact and wisdom. He divided his camp into two to ensure survivors in the event of a deadly attack. He sent gifts to Esau ahead of him to pacify the latter and win his favour. We too need to act prudently and wisely even as we seek the Lord's blessing and protection. Prateep V Philip