I have noticed that around the holiday season, life’s disappointments can loom especially large. God understands. God sees our suffering. He is there, through our disappointments and when we ask, “Why?”
In contrast, I have noticed we seldom ask “Why?” when good things happen. Why are we blessed by God? When we have health and wealth, we do not often ask, “Why am I being given this?”
To think about that question, let’s look at Psalm 67, which says:
God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us—Selah.
That Your way may be known on the earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will judge the peoples with uprightness
And guide the nations on the earth. Selah.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
The earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, blesses us.
God blesses us,
That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
From this Psalm, which was used in a worship setting, we see that God blesses us on purpose and for His purpose, that “Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.”
God has given Oklahoma Baptists abundant resources. We are blessed materially, and we are blessed spiritually. As we give thanks to the Lord for these blessings, we remember that the provision He gives to each of us is to achieve His purpose. Through acts of generosity, the blessings we enjoy move from personal to national to global.
As we enter that time of year in which we give toward the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, we think about giving toward the one sacred effort of missions and advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. As we give generously toward the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, remember our missionaries in prayer who are serving to make God’s ways “known on the earth,” His salvation among all the nations. God blesses us for this purpose.
