Day 26 - Eight Daily Blessings

Numbers In The Bible Series:
Day 26 - Eight Daily Blessings

Psalms 145:1-5 (David's Psalm of praise.) I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

The following eight blessings are not presented in order of importance, but in the order the main passages used appear in the Word of God. All the promises of God in the Bible depend upon a personal relationship with Him. If you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, the promises in His Word are yours to claim - including these eight daily blessings:

1) Daily Guidance And Teaching From The Lord (From His Word)

Exodus 13:21-22 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

Numbers 9:15-17 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.

Look up and consider the next six verses in this passage (Numbers 9:18-23), and notice the seven times the phrase at (according to) the commandment of the LORD is used.

Nehemiah 9:12, 19 Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go... Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.

Every day the Lord God led the nation of Israel in their march through the wilderness - all they had to do was follow His clear guiding, whether it was by night or by day that the pillar moved before them.

Luke 21:38 And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.

John 8:2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

Every morning Jesus was in the temple teaching the people the Word of God. Now we do not have Jesus physically teaching in our midst, but we have the Word of God before us to read and study and the Holy Spirit working through us to teach us God's will for our lives each day.

Psalms 25:4-5 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Are you waiting upon the Lord? Are you seeking His will and determined to follow it as it is revealed step by step to you?

2) Daily Strength

Physical Strength:

Deuteronomy 33:25 Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

The Lord promises strength for each day - strength to do His will, whatever He has called us to do.

Spiritual Strength: Psalms 138:3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

I like this promise found in the Psalms. When we are in need of spiritual strength, that strength is ours when we cry out to the Lord and seek Him for it. Day by day. Are you relying upon the Lord's strength today?

3) Daily Wisdom

Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

The Lord promises to freely provide us wisdom each day - and then blesses us as we heed that wisdom from Him! What grace!

Proverbs 8:12-20 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:

When we seek our Heavenly Father for His wisdom early and diligently, when we seek Him in faith and trust Him to give us the wisdom needed for each day, He will provide. Proverbs eight is a neat chapter in which we see the Lord Jesus Christ pictured as wisdom. He loves those that love Him, and those that seek Him early will find Him - will both find His wisdom each day, as well as find the Lord Himself in personal fellowship. What a promise!

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Wisdom is available for the asking - have you asked the Lord to give you His wisdom today?

4) Daily Benefits

Psalms 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

Daily our Lord loads us with benefits and blessings - daily He showers His grace upon us, blessings we could never earn or deserve - and those blessings all start with repenting of our sins and placing our faith in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and in His finished work upon the cross of Calvary (salvation from our sins, and from the penalty and guilt of them; as we walk with the Lord, He also delivers us from the power of those sins; and one glorious day in the future from the very presence of them). Then we need to be seeking Him daily and trusting in Him to meet our daily needs (more on this in part 7 below).

Psalms 103:1-2 (A Psalm of David.) Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Have you praised and thanked the Lord today for the blessings He has given to you and your loved ones?

5) Daily Lovingkindness

Psalms 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary gives this simple definition of lovingkindness: "Tender regard; mercy; favor." When you break down the English words into its two root words, you get loving and kindness. Webster's also defines kindness as "1. Good will; benevolence; that temper or disposition which delights in contributing to the happiness of others, which is exercised cheerfully in gratifying their wishes, supplying their wants or alleviating their distresses; benignity of nature. Kindness ever accompanies love. 2. Act of good will; beneficence; any act of benevolence which promotes the happiness or welfare of others. Charity, hospitality, attentions to the wants of others, &c., are deemed acts of kindness, or kindnesses." I'm certain all of us could use that assurance that the Lord loves with an everlasting love us and showers His kindness upon us every day!

Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

In regards to "alleviating [our] distresses," I am encouraged by David's steadfast desire to seek the Lord each morning in prayer - every morning he would cry out to God, and then look to the Lord expectantly for His answers!

Psalms 5:1-3 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Here are some wonderful declarations and promises about God's lovingkindness towards us:

Psalms 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Psalms 42:8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

Psalms 63:3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

Are you glorying in the fact that you know the Lord? Are you rejoicing in His lovingkindness to you?

6) Daily Mercies

Lamentations 3:21-26 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

One of the basic truths of the Christian life is that the Lord has shown us His mercy - He has not given us what we deserve because of our sins and our many failures and falterings. He gives us new mercies everyday! So even if you fell flat on your face yesterday, if you look to the Lord in repentance today, He will give you His new mercies and a new beginning today! That new beginning will also include forgiveness and cleansing from our sins - oh, how we need that everyday!

Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalms 40:11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

Psalms 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Because of the Lord's lovingkindness and tender mercy shown to them every morning, the Psalmists chose to declare and sing about their Lord every day, as a testimony to others - we should do likewise!

Psalms 92:1-2 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,

Psalms 59:16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Psalms 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

What's new with you? Have you claimed those new mercies today - that new beginning - and are you singing a new song?

7) Daily Provision

Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.

Luke 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:33-34 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

We are not to worry or fret about our daily needs - we are instead to seek the Lord, seek His will and do it daily, and then He promises to meet all our daily needs. If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you, which was your greatest need, then your Heavenly Father promises to meet all the rest of them as you walk with Him.

Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Psalms 34:9-10 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

Psalms 145:15-16 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

The Lord will give daily provision. It is interesting that the words provide and provision mean (as defined by Webster's) "literally to see before. To procure beforehand; to get, collect or make ready for future use; to prepare." The Lord has seen all your needs ahead of time, and has set things into motion so that those needs would be met in their proper timing. I would encourage you to read a biography on a great man of prayer named George Mueller, and be amazed at all the ways the Lord had provided for the needs of his orphanages throughout the years. The Lord changes not! He is still the same, and able to meet our needs just the same!

Whether the Lord has to drop manna from the sky to feed His people in the wilderness (see Numbers 11:7-9; Exodus 16:35), bring ravens by to feed His prophet Elijah, or bring neighbours by with extra food from their gardens, God is not limited, and can still meet all our needs today!

Nehemiah 9:20-21 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

1 Kings 17:3-6 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

Are you seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness today?

8) Daily Renewal

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Sometimes this world wears us down - whether it be physical and mental struggles of living in a sin-cursed world, spiritual battles and learning how to die to ourselves daily, or being oppressed and distressed over the sins of others - and we just need to get away from all the hustle and bustle of this weary world, and spend some much needed time with our Saviour. Jesus promises rest for those who are heavy laden; promises refreshing to those who take time out from their busy schedules, come away from the world, and learn from Him.

Psalms 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Song of Solomon 2:10-13 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Let's follow Jesus' example, and spend some time with our Heavenly Father in prayer:

Matthew 14:23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. Mark 6:31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

Have you spent time today with your Saviour? Spent time in His Word? Spent time in prayer and fellowship with Him? Has your soul been refreshed and renewed today? If not, He is still waiting to spend time with you!

Great is Thy Faithfulness

(Words by Thomas O. Chisholm)

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my father!

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not:

As thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth.

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Chorus:

Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness,

Morning by morning new mercies I see:

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Praise the Lord for all His daily benefits unto us!

July 1st/07

Jerry Bouey

60 Day Devotional Series: Numbers In The Bible