Abraham was now old and well advanced in year, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. (Genesis 24:1, NIV)
With the introduction of the strokes gained metrics, the statistical categories that can be used to analyze a tour professional’s performance, both short term and long term, has increased almost exponentially in the past few seasons.
Abraham was no professional golfer, but he knew what it meant to be thoroughly blessed.Among that mountain of statistical possibility lies this one surety: the player who wins on a given Sunday is sure to have been blessed that week in nearly every phase of the game: driving, approach play, scrambling, putting. Competition is so stiff on every tour these days, you can’t be misfiring in any department and get away with it. That’s why you’ll frequently hear some version of this self-analysis come from the winner in the press tent after the win: “Everything seemed to be working for me out there.”
Abraham was no professional golfer, but he knew what it meant to be thoroughly blessed. If we are to count our blessings, Abraham likely lost count somewhere before the twilight of his life. If we were to catalog the “every way” in which Abraham had been blessed, we could list these:
– He was promised and given land for his family (Gen. 13:14-17)
– He was promised and received progeny of great number (Gen. 22:17-18)
– He found favor in the eyes of kings (Gen. 12 & 20)
– He accumulated great wealth (Gen 12:16 & 13:6)
– He lived a long, productive life (Gen. 15:15 & 24:1)
– He had his faith credited as righteousness, making him the example for all believers of the Messiah, Jesus, in the age to come (Gen. 15:6)
Alongside these blessings, however, there is one more that we don’t want to miss. Abraham talked with God (Gen. 17 & 18). This wasn’t just a say-your-prayers type of conversation; this was the undoubtedly-hearing-God’s-voice-and-talking-things-out variety of conversation. Abraham talked with God, and God talked with Abraham.
There are many ways to count one’s blessings. Though we are not to hold riches or health up as yearnings or idols, Scripture does not shy away from calling these things rewards and blessings. But above these earthly gifts, for sure, are the things that count now and then—that is, in this life and in the eternal stretch of the life to come. And above all these is our relationship with the Lord who made us and who has saved us. Seek these blessings. Cultivate them. Enjoy them. Pass them on. The legacy of Abraham that mattered most to you and me was his faith. This should be our greatest legacy, too.
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Jeff Hopper
January 9, 2017
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.