DEVOTION – DAY 494

Psalm 127:1 “God Is The Source Of All Blessings” 

Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 

Psalm 127 is a psalm that holds much truth. It serves to remind everyone that all of life’s securities and blessings are gifts from God. The health that we enjoy, the money with have in our savings, the people we have in our lives that are our family and friends – they are all gifts from God. Often, people forget that, and think that what they have and enjoy are the results of their own achievements. But v1 of Psalm 127 introduces the theme that everything we have in our lives, that we take for granted, are truly blessings from God. 

Vivian Nicholson was born in 1936 in Wakefield, England. She came from a poor family. She dropped out of school in her teens and by the time she was 25 years old, she was into her second marriage and she had 4 children. In 1961, her husband won the lottery and they won the equivalent of RM23 million in todays’ terms. It was a huge windfall. She thought her troubles were over. She was determined to live the good life. She and her husband spent lavishly on themselves. They had no sense of putting aside savings or investing some of their windfall. Their winnings did not bring them the happiness they thought would come their way. Tragedy struck when her husband was killed in a car accident involving a new sportscar he had bought. She distanced herself from her family and many friends because she thought they only wanted her money. Within a few years, she found that she was in debt and she was declared a bankrupt. Whatever money she had left were declared to belong to her husband’s estate. She appealed and eventually managed to get some of the money back. But she quickly spent it all on her legal fees, and free spending ways. Once again, she was broke. She married three more times, only to be a widow after each of her husbands died from illness. She died alone in 2015 without much to her name. 

She was an extreme example of someone who tried to find happiness in money, material things and marriage only to find tragedy. Her lottery winnings did not bring her happiness. She had not turned to God as her true source of blessings. She lived her life without acknowledging God and in the end, she was left with nothing but regrets, disappointments and loneliness. 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we worship you as the source of all our blessings. Please help us to be content with whatever you have blessed us with. May we always be thankful and to know that you are all we need. We humbly pray in the holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. How has the Lord been blessing you? List them and thank God for His abundant blessings.
  2. From your list of blessings, what are some items that are not related to money or material things but still give you much joy? 
  3. How can you raise your children to know that all blessings come from the Lord? Discuss.