Most of us can agree that it would be of great help to us if we were to be promoted and blessed by God. When God blesses you, you are successful in everything that you do. When God promotes you, your influence and prestige are increased supernaturally. It is safe to conclude that these things would be of enormous benefit. But how exactly do we go about getting blessed by God and promoted? Many believers have been asking this question recently, wondering why God seems to be silent in their situations.
The answer is of course found in the Bible, and we will be looking at the simple steps which will enable each and every believer to attain this blessing and promotion of God which He desires for each of us to have.
Now there are two prominent theories today about how God blesses and promotes His children. The first is that we must earn His favor through Old Testament law-keeping. To believe this way is to completely ignore the finished work of Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 17:5 makes this abundantly clear by stating the following:
“Thus said the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD.”
There can be no mistaking or escaping this very plain fact. Our own strength, efforts and trying will profit us absolutely nothing. It is impossible for us to earn anything from God. The more that we trust in ourselves, the more we will invite curses into our lives. These are the words of God for us.
The second prominent theory today is that because of Jesus, we are automatically blessed, and have a free license to behave however we please and nothing matters anymore. This idea uses the Gospel of Grace as an excuse for lasciviousness, or to be led by one’s own self-will and emotionalism.
Let me be perfectly clear here: I believe in the Grace of God. It is by Grace that we are saved through faith in Christ Jesus. Period.
At the same time, it is God who states in the Bible that we are not to use our freedom in Christ Jesus as an excuse to behave wrongly or to follow ourselves or our passions or emotions. This is found in 1st Peter 2:16:
“For you are free people, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.”
My friends. God has zero interest in human strength or effort to earn salvation, because He knows that we can’t earn anything. That being said, He is entirely devoted to guiding us unto all truth and giving us Godly advice to protect and lead us as a Father guiding His children (because we are His children and He is our Father). John 16:13 tells us this:
“However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”
So yes the Holy Spirit of God does indeed guide us. He does occasionally steer us away from things that would do us harm and He does caution us to avoid things that are not good for us. This is not so that we can earn God’s favor, but to protect us from evil and harm. This is a very important distinction. God will always love you no matter what, that is not even in-question. In-fact He loves you so much that He wants to lead you into more and more truth and guide you into even better places.
Now we can plainly see in the scripture verse of John 16:13 that the Spirit will guide us into all truth. And we can also see in John 14:6 that Jesus is the (definite article) way, the truth and the life:
“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.”.
So when we read that the Spirit guides us into all truth, we must therefore conclude that this is truth of Jesus… but where do we find this truth? John 1:1-4 has the answer:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
And furthermore in John 1:14:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
These verses make it very clear that the truth of Jesus that the Holy Spirit guides us into is only found in the scriptures themselves. Jesus and the scriptures can not be separated because they are in perfect harmony with one another ª
At this point you might be asking how any of this benefits you when speaking of our topic today of blessing and promotion. For this, let’s examine Proverbs 4:5-13:
“Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
Forsake her not, and she shall preserve you: love her, and she shall keep you.
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding.
Exalt her, and she shall promote you: she shall bring you to honor, when you do embrace her.
She shall give to your head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to you.
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of your life shall be many.
I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.
When you go, your steps shall not be straitened; and when you run, you shall not stumble.
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is your life.”
From these verses we can see that wisdom is the avenue by which we obtain blessing and promotion. This makes sense when we consider that it is never wise to promote a foolish person. So before God will promote us and give us more influence and more responsibility, He wants to make us wise first.
To be clear, this is not worldly wisdom that we are speaking of here, but Godly wisdom, the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of Jesus. Verse 13 clarifies this even further by saying that we should hold onto instruction. This again is the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit via the Bible.
To further solidify this, we have God’s words in Joshua 1:8:
“This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.”
My friends, it doesn’t get any more obvious than this. Many people are asking God for wisdom, but they are unwilling to study His Word. You can not separate God from t. I have talked to some people who believe that they have grown to such a degree that they no longer need the Bible at all… and the people who believe this way are always lost and wandering with broken lives because God will never bless anything that is not in agreement with His Word. (Jesus)ª
If you are looking for the blessing, favor and guidance of God in your life, start studying His Word. You don’t need to read it all in one day, but you do need to read it. Read a small amount and listen for the Holy Spirit to illuminate the words to you. You’ll find that He will guide you and lead you and you will find wisdom in all things. And yes, sometimes it will be correction, but that correction will make you stronger and cause you to grow and make you ready for promotion and further blessings.
Today in Christ Jesus we are indeed free. Free to live and free to have a relationship with God where we no longer need to be afraid, but can enjoy all of the benefits of intimacy with Him as He teaches us His wisdom and guides us to all blessings and honor.
ªThis article was modified on February 28, 2021 to add clarity and clear up confusion regarding Jesus and the scriptures.