12/12/2023 – Your Gratitude Completes your Blessing.
Isaiah 39: 3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” So Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 And he said, “What have they seen in your house?” So Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’
King Hezekiah had learned to pray in a way that turned trials into triumphs. When the king of Assyria wrote letters blaspheming God and threatening to destroy His people, King Hezekiah brought these defiant letters to the presence of God, and he prayed. God heard his prayers and destroyed the Assyrian army, giving His people one of the greatest victories recorded in history. God has promised to turn our pain and suffering into blessings; but we must be careful that we do not turn our blessings into sorrow.
He was a man of prayer, but he was lacking in one important aspect of worship: gratitude. Once he received a blessing, his heart was proud. Instead of giving God the glory…instead of responding to God’s blessing by worshiping and serving Him, he boasted and felt proud. This is the number one reason that blessings are lost.
Hezekiah boasted instead of giving thanks. He showed off the riches God had given him to the enemies of God. The Lord Jesus also said not to throw our pearls to the pigs, lest they turn against us and destroy us (Matthew 7:6). We put our blessings at risk when we boast about them in social media more than we thank God for them on our knees and with our service to Him. The temptation when we are blessed is to boast, and to take credit. Be careful to give God the glory in salvation. Boasting turns blessings into liabilities. It provokes envy, and it provokes God’s anger!
The greatest risk to our blessings is our own ingratitude. Thankfulness completes our blessing because it glorifies God and testifies to others.