Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

A practice Renee and I have made in our life is to pause frequently, look around, and thank God for all the blessings in our life. It is so easy to become familiar with the blessings in your life.  Familiarity is the taking for granted and the diminishing appreciation of blessings that God has bestowed upon your life.

Do you have any blessings in your life that you may have taken for granted? There are some things in life that we simply must not let familiarity touch. That is most true in priority relationships—spouse, children, great friendships, etc. And, the most important relationship we must protect from the curse of familiarity is our relationship with God.  

Familiarity unchecked leads to what can become days, weeks, months, or even years of not appreciating someone or something we should value and appreciate. We should because, what is valuable and precious was given to us by God to bless our life! James 1:17 (NIV) says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Losing appreciation is losing value, and what you no longer value will lose it’s place to bless your life! That’s why familiarity is a blessing thief! In the beginning, you greatly appreciate what God has given you—even if you don’t appreciate it was from Him! But, because you’ve stopped appreciating it, you’ve let what should be special and appreciated in your heart, become mundane. When that happens to your relationship with God, it’s critical to confront it and make changes! Loving, worshipping, and seeking God—putting God first and giving Him first place in the beginning of your day, tops the list!

You might wonder, how can our life with God possibly become familiar and mundane? Life is busy. In the effort to get a little extra sleep, many wake up last minute and are are suddenly in a fast-moving scramble. Get up and get ready. Get everyone else going. Eat and get yourself and everyone else out the door. Whatever your scenario is, it happens. Suddenly, reading the Bible, or at least reading a devotional about His Word and spending time with God in pray falls to the back burner. We feel demands on our time all day long and when we get a break, we just want some time to ourself. God has been put on the back burner and because of familiarity, this is repeated and becomes a regular occurrence. Not only is God not first place, but He’s been relegated to slivers of time where we squeeze Him in. How would you feel if the appreciation your spouse, children or boss showed you was that low?

The majority of surveyed Christians have reluctantly admitted that they rush into their day without spending time in the Word of God or in prayer. They also admit that they spend large amounts of time on the Internet, social media, and/or reading the newspaper, watching television, or in other daily activities.

To put it honestly, thinking we can go through our day without God’s guidance and instruction in our life is either pride or familiarity at it’s worst! And, it is a blessing robber! I promise you! Familiarity causes you to lose sight of what is precious and valuable, and that over time makes you numb to your blessings and turns off the spigot of blessing one way or another.  

Don’t take this as a scolding. Take this as a prompting of the Holy Spirit as a loving wake-up call!

Make the decision to make some changes. Get up and get going earlier to spend time with God. When you let the Holy Spirit re-establish your priorities and spend time with Him through His word and in prayer, God will reward you with a powerful and refreshed Christian walk. You’ll drive a stake in the heart of familiarity and instead talk and walk with Him everywhere you go.  Your appreciation and time with the Lord will bless you. God will give you insight and wisdom and show you secret things that only His children get to know and experience. And it will cause you to hear His voice, receive His direction, and open the spigot of blessing to flow in your life.

Psalm 25:14 (NKJV) “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.”

In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt

If Fresh Manna is a blessing to you, I’d love to know. Click here: FreshMannaFeedback

How Your Donations Are Used? click here  

Published by Pastor Tim Burt
Copyright© 2022 All rights reserved
http://TimBurt.org