10 Blessings From God
In my last post, I talked about waiting on the Lord for blessings we are seeking. It is true that we often must wait through difficult times before the arm of God is revealed in our lives. But, as I mentioned in my previous post, while we wait on the Lord, we can watch for His mercies. By mercies, I mean blessings.
A blessing is a gift or mercy extended to us by God. Often, we refer to these blessings as tender mercies. These can be dramatic, such as nearly missing an automobile accident. Or they can be subtle, such as a friend sending a text to you at a needed time. But the blessings do come.
David A. Bednar says,
“The Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.”
I love the term tender mercy when referring to blessings because it illustrates to me how loving our Heavenly Father is. He is a tender parent who wants to share with us His tender love. Especially in our times of trial.
Even while we must sometimes wait on the Lord, there are immediate mercies He extends to us. When my mom was sick and dying, I struggled to get her basic care. I worried about providing her with the comforts she needed during her last days. This was a stressful time for me but I had two amazing blessings to help me get through the ordeal. One was my supportive husband who held down the fort and took care of the kids while I saw to my mom. The other was my dear friend and neighbor who sat with me through appointments and walked me through finding the best care for my mom. Even though this was a hard time – a time in which I needed to wait on the Lord – His immediate blessings were there to buoy me up.
Heavenly Father has blessings ready for us. We don’t earn them; He freely gives them to us when we exercise faith in His name. Exercising our faith in Him, qualifies us for the blessings He has in store for us.
It takes faith to see Heaven’s blessings, or mercies, in our lives. Some blessings may be small enough to be missed if we are not watching for them. One of the tender mercies in my life are the blue birds that fly around my neighborhood. Their bright color reminds me that God is good and that happiness is within reach.
Here are just 10 blessings for which you can be grateful.
1. The opportunity to pray to a loving Heavenly Father.
2. Having the scriptures as the word of God readily available to you.
3. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that rescues us from death and sin
4. The opportunity to repent and be forgiven
5. God’s love.
6. Having a living prophet on the earth
7. God’s mercy
8. Your life
9. The Comforter
10. The chance to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ after this life.
There are so many more blessings that Heavenly Father offers us, so many more tender mercies. If we take time each day to notice these blessings, we will find our souls lifted and have a more positive outlook on life.
