Blessed To Be A Blessing
BRD REFLECTION 2025
Isaiah 23 and Psalm 119:25-32 (NIV)
(Aw Meng Yin from BRD Core Team)
READ:
Isaiah 23 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
Isaiah 23 is a prophecy about the destruction of the ancient city of Tyre. Isaiah tells us in v3 and v8 that Tyre was the marketplace of the nations, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were renowned in the earth. But in v9, we are told “The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendour and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.” The prophecy foretold that Tyre will then be forgotten for seventy years but at the end of seventy years, the Lord will restore Tyre to its former glory. The difference is that “her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes.” The tale of Tyre is a warning against pride. While the proud will most certainly fall, God in His mercies can turn things around.
APPLY:
The passage reminds me of how I too may at times feel proud of my own achievements and attribute them to my own intelligence and wit. Isaiah 23 tells me to be humble and recognise that all I have comes from God. To be humble is not just something I tell myself and try to appear so in front of others, but a posture of my heart before my King. True humility is to live in constant awareness that without God, I am truly nothing and that He alone deserves all praise and glory. Having been blessed by Him, I also then need to set aside for Him and His people what He has blessed me with and not just store or hoard it for my own enjoyment. I need to be truly generous, not to show off what I can afford, but to give because I acknowledge that everything I have belongs to Jesus.
DO:
- Acknowledge that it is God alone who has blessed me with all that I have achieved or have.
- Be humble even as I rest in His blessings.
- Share what I have with those who need it.
PRAY:
Father, thank You for all that You have given me in life. You in Your mercies have been so gracious to me. Lord, help me not to grow proud and forget You. Help me to see the needs of others around me and know that I have been blessed to be a blessing. I ask these in Jesus’ name, Amen.
