Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)
You know the difference between sedatives and stimulants, yes? A sedative is designed to “take the edge off” and help you fall asleep, while a stimulant is designed to “take you to the edge” and keep you going and going and going. I want to share a story about a time in the life of God’s people when past blessings acted like a sedative rather than a stimulant; they sedated God’s people into a sense of sinful, self-centered security, rather than stimulating them into a season of sold-out, Savior-centered service.
After Israel spent 400-plus years in bondage in Egypt, God sent His servant Moses to deliver His people from slavery. The Sovereign Lord performed a series of incredible miracles: the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, water from a rock (twice!), and a pillar of cloud guiding the people by day and a pillar of fire by night. Tragically, these many blessings acted like sedatives on God people. They slumbered into the sinful thinking that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. Their past blessings sedated them into a season of self-absorption, because they focused on the blessings they had received rather than the One who had graciously given them. And here is the warning from Paul: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us” (1 Corinthians 10:11). When we shift our focus away from the Giver of our blessings to the blessings themselves, they become like sedatives, and sin begins to envelop us.
The warning is clear: When we allow past blessings to sedate us, we are lulled into a false sense of security. We begin to see past blessings as a present promise. We start to expect only good from the hand of our good God, as if we are somehow deserving of it. We lose our sense of appreciation for the many good gifts we have received from the hand of Almighty God.
However, when past blessings serve as stimulants, we shift our focus from the gift to the One who is the Giver of the gifts. When we do that, we never lose our sense of dependence on Him. We understand that past blessings can be replaced by present burdens in an instant, so we keep our spiritual eyes on our Savior, which keeps our hands and feet from slackening into sinful self-reliance.
How is it with you today? Have past blessings sedated you or stimulated you in your walk with Jesus? Is your focus on what you have been given, or on the One who has given it to you? Remember, our greatest gift is God, not what He so graciously gives to us. Keep looking up and let your past blessings stimulate you to a life of sold-out service to your Savior.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 