Page 7 - MyFaith Mag February 2017 PRINT

The blessing of God goes to work as our minds are filled with the thoughts and pur-
poses of Him, and from our time spent delighting in His Word, we begin to respond to
circumstances from that state of mind. Our first response becomes God’s response and
when we stick to that response, the BLESSING ‘works’ to bring supernatural pleasure and
favour every time.

What about the times we miss it, when our emotions and frustrations get the better of
us and we don’t respond from the wisdom of God’s Word? Like Adam, do we forfeit
the BLESSING too? Absolutely not! Jesus secured the BLESSING for us with His blood. It’s
ours to appropriate and enjoy. However, when we choose to not walk in it, it doesn’t
remove itself from us, we simply walk away from it. But there is nothing stopping us from
realising our error, turning around, and walking straight back into it again! That’s called
repentance - it simply means to deliberately change our minds and go in a different
direction from where we were heading. God’s mercy has secured that freedom for us!
And Psalm 32:10 says that God’s mercy surrounds us too! So all we need to do is repent
and direct our thoughts and attitudes right back to the Word of God again. That’s the
BLESSING!

So far we’ve learnt that in The BLESSING, the Lord Himself protectively encamps around
us, His favour and goodness and mercy surround us, but that’s not all! when we choose
to make spending time in God’s word a priority, and allow His wisdom to influence and
transform our lives, Psalms 125:2 says that as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the
Lord surrounds His people! Just like those mountains, God Himself is an ever present,
immovable strength and fortress around our lives. He is our protector, our provider, our
comfort and our strength!

Renewing our minds to the Word of God is not a retreat from our problems or an es-
cape from reality! It’s choosing to place ourselves in a state of mind where we per-
ceive our circumstance as God does, and respond to them from a perspective of faith
and victory, rather than hopelessness and defeat. It’s being aware of the supernatural
BLESSING we have received from being in Him, more than being aware of the limited,
natural circumstances that surround us.

Once we have decided to receive God’s gift of love and have chosen to make spend-
ing time in His Word a priority, so that our hearts and minds are in tune with His ways - He
is completely and intricately involved in our journey through life. His BLESSING empow-
ers us in all we do and enables us to influence the world around us with His power.
That’s the greatest gift we could ever dream of, a life filled and overflowing in the grace
of His BLESSING!

ANDRÉ AND JENNY ROEBERT are the senior pastors and
co-founders of River Ministries situated in East London,
South Africa, incorporating various ministries, each
geared to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around
the nations of this world.

For more information visit: myriver.com