God loves us and wants to bless us abundantly, but we often choose to suffer instead of enjoying His blessings. We live in a sinful world and suffering is a part of life. But that doesn't mean that God wants our lives to be full of pain and constant struggle. The Bible tells us that Christ died so that we could have life and abundance. (John 10:10) But God never forces His blessings on us, instead He tells us how we can choose to receive them. Choosing God's blessings In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy we read about the blessings and curses that God would bring on the Children of Israel. Chapter 28 lists all the blessings that would come on them for obeying God, and all the curses that would happen if they didn't. In Chapter 30 we read that if the curses have come on them, and they remember the blessings and repent, then God will again bring His blessings upon them. Before we can enjoy God's blessings we have to choose them. Deuteronomy 30:15 says, "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction." The choice is ours, and making the decision to obey Him and receive His blessings is the first step. To whom much is given I think that most people would take God's blessings without a second thought if they were simply dropped in their lap. But they usually come along with greater responsibility and that scares them. The servant who received only one talent was afraid to lose it, so he hid it, and because of that he lost a lot more than just one talent. When we choose to enjoy God's blessings, we are also choosing to accept the problems and responsibilities that come with them. Jesus said, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48) So the second step to enjoying God's blessings is to be willing accept the responsibility that comes with them. Are you trustworthy? An important step that we can take in preparation for greater blessings is to be faithful, or trustworthy, with what we currently have. How faithful are you when it comes to giving of your time, talents, and treasures? Jesus said, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." God wants to be sure that His blessings will be properly handled. When God plants a seed He expects it to grow and multiply. It's the same with His blessings. He gives them to us so that we can share them and multiply them. The next step to enjoying God's blessings is to be trustworthy with what we have, sharing our blessings with others so that they increase. Do you remember God? In the parable of the sower, Jesus talked about how some of the seed was sown in the midst of thorns. The thorns choked those seeds and they didn't bear much fruit. One of the "thorns" that He talked about was the "deceitfulness of riches." If we are to enjoy much fruit and enjoy God's blessings, then we need to be careful to avoid being deceived by riches. Deuteronomy 8:10-11 says, "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day." Riches deceive us whenever we fail to remember that it is God who gave us the ability to get them, even if it's just the riches we enjoy from our current job. Whenever we believe that we did it on our own, we choke the fruit and can't enjoy His blessings. One of the most important steps for us to take is to remember that all we have, and all that we will receive, comes from God and we are to always praise and thank Him for it. Are you waiting for the bad news? Some people are afraid of good things happening in their lives because they are convinced that bad always follows good. Have you ever caught yourself thinking, or saying, "Things may be good now, but it can't last." There are those who believe that the universe is perfectly balanced. That there is up and down, right and left, as well as good and evil in equal portions. And we learn from Job that we need to be willing to accept both good and bad in life, but we have to remember that God is good. His promise to us is that all things will work together for good. (Romans 8:28) Just like the heavens are greater than the earth, God's blessings and goodness are more abundant than the pain and suffering that we see in life. The final step to enjoying His blessings is knowing that above everything else, God is good. In our lives we will experience more good than bad, and God will even use the bad things for our good. When we follow these steps, and believe in His love and goodness, we will enjoy His blessings.