Blessed to Bless

Based on Genesis 12-14

"and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:"

Genesis 12:2

"And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." Genesis 13:2

Before "Abram" was "Abraham" and before even that first promise of a child and a great nation were fulfilled, Abram was a very blessed person. He was rich in cattle, silver & gold. But when he and his nephew Lot decided to part ways, and Lot found himself taken captive, Abram had to choose to reach out & BE a blessing. He had to round up his own people & risk a LOT of what he was blessed with in order to help Lot out...but he did it! Abram understood that we are blessed to bless. We are challenged to use what we've been given for our good to help someone else, for their good. Abram was able to do this because he remembered that God gives the blessings, and they all belong to Him in order to be used for his glory!

"And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people." Genesis 14:16

Abram brought back every blessing which the enemy tried to steal. He was used by God to be a witness to Lot and to everyone else that being on The Lord's side keeps us blessed. It keeps us safe. It is the only side we want to be standing on in eternity! Do we have faith like Abram that God will restore & replenish our blessings if we're willing to use them for His glory? The goodness of God never runs dry! With every sacrifice is a surplus stored up for us when we choose to do all to the glory of God!

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all." Genesis 14:18‭-‬20

God is the Blessed One. The Blesser. And being made in His image as we've learned about, we must be blessed & be blessings as well!

"And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:" Genesis 14:22‭-‬23

One last great thing to understand in these passages is not only the faith of Abram, but the wisdom. He knew when God was blessing him, but he also knew when someone was giving him something he didn't need. He knew when to say no. He knew when something would no longer bless him, but curse him, because it came out of someone else's riches instead of God's provision. Let's not only pray for the blessings we need this year, but pray for the faith and wisdom to put those blessings to good use where they are needed.