What keeps a person from
receiving a gift,
a very precious
and significant gift?

Given the chance to accept such a gift,

a brand new car perhaps

a beautiful house and lot

a precious jewel,

how many among us would refuse

something totally for free?

Following are some of the things I thought would prevent us from receiving the blessings/ gifts the good Lord has meant us all to receive:

1. Hostility/ doubt towards the giver

It doesn't matter sometimes how beautiful or precious a gift is as long as we do not approve of the giver.  Who would ever receiver a gift from someone she doesn't trust?  From someone with a vested interest perhaps?  From someone scary?  From a monster?

 We are unable to receive many gifts because we do not approve of the giver.

2. Feeling of unworthiness

Even if we believe in the giver, we oftentimes refuse our gifts because we do not believer ourselves worthy of them.  We think we do not deserve a new car because we have not studied well, we do not deserve to be forgiven because we have been so bad in the past.

But have you ever considered what the giver is giving the gift for?  Maybe it has nothing to do after all with what we did or not.  Maybe it is being given just because the giver would be happy to see us receive the blessing.  Maybe it is because of his generosity.  Maybe it is because of his unconditional love.

3. So much focus on other things
as not to see what is being given

How do you receive a gift you do not even notice?  If we are so busy doing something else, talking to this and that, taking care of this and that, worrying, fretting, anxiously thinking of our fears, would we ever have the time to even think someone's waiting for us, intending to give us something beautiful?

4.  lack of confidence
to be able to use the gift

If we do not know how to operate a personal computer, having not even a slight interest in learning to do so, would it matte at all that someone's giving us a top of the line PC, complete with accessories, software and technical assistance? 

If we think we'd have no use nor skill for something, we may refuse something being given us.

5. ignorance on the nature and worth
of what is being given

Our ignorance on the nature of the gift being given us hinders us from receiving it open arms.  Instead of gratitude, we have doubt.  Instead of excitement, we have apathy and we care not whether we receive the blessing or not at all.

6.  ignorance of one's needs
that can be fully satisfied
by the gift

If we do not know our selves and our needs, we may not be aware of what good the blessing before us is going to give us.  An abundant feast may have been set before our eyes, yet if we do not even know we're hungry, it wouldn't satisfy us a bit.  We may even look for other things we think we need.

7.  comparing one's gift to the
gift given to others

How many times have we refused our blessings because we deem it lesser than the gifts we saw given to other people?  Our blessings may be the best for us, yet oftentimes, we look at bigger packages given to another.  We know not that inside the small package is a precious jewel waiting to be revealed if only we'd have opened our hands to receive it rather than whine about how small it is compared to what our neighbors have received.

Have you found your blessings yet?  Have you prayed and received not the answer?  Reflect for a moment and consider, you may have refused the very blessings God has placed before you all the while.

This article was written by Jocelyn Soriano at ITAKEOFFTHEMASK.COM

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