But, that's not what a blessing is supposed to look like.

I wonder sometimes at the blessings people miss, that are just beyond what they are willing to commit to God. I see it often, but like many things, it is the beam in my eye and the speck in my brother's. I think that we, as we mature in the faith, recognize when another believer is traveling down a section of road that we know very well. We can see (from an outside perspective) that blessings are just on the other side of what our friend doesn't want. Blessings, sometimes to us and our friends, just don't look like that.

For most, any spiritual progress is thrown out when it crosses paths with "what I want." This is the difference between real and nominal Christians. Mature Christians do not go around looking for trouble, but in fact, trouble finds them with great frequency. It's the difference between the warhorse and the show pony! The clanging of metal, the rumbling of distant voices and the fear of uncertainty send the show pony running the other way to find a place to hide his pretty braided mane. Ah, but the warhorse, his heart starts beating, he paws at the ground and he can't wait for the moment that he is released to run into battle, into the unknown!

There is no big secret to spiritual maturity. It is that those who mature in the faith, do so because they will face difficulty, pain and loss to find a closer relationship with God. Ask yourself, am I a warhorse or a show pony? Are you driven, or are you content to sit in the same spot until Jesus comes back? Listen: the time has been coming and now is, when the redeemed of the Lord are going to have to stand up and say so, or as the NIV has it "tell their story"; otherwise our country will be lost forever. Are you going to let this country and the people you see everyday go to hell, because you are too afraid to stand up and be counted? Are you going to decide that me knowing God is going to change me?

I'm sure that I have used this before, but look at this quote from C. T. Studd, "Let us not glide through this world and then slip quietly into heaven, without having blown the trumpet loud and long for our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Let us see to it that the devil will hold a thanksgiving service in hell, when he gets the news of our departure from the field of battle." How about it? Are you going to slip quietly into heaven, or are you going to see to it that the devil holds a thanksgiving service in hell, when he gets the news of your departure from the field of battle? Because when you choose the latter, you'll find out what a blessing looks like.