Got this e-mail from a dear friend the other day. Sharing it with you now (with permission).

I felt moved to share this with you. Today at church we sang a couple of songs that penetrated my mind in a profound way. One was called "Faithful is Our God" by Hezekiah Walker and the other is "The Blessing of Abraham" by Donald Lawrence.

The refrain of the first song says, "I'm reaping the harvest God promised me, taking back what the Devil stole from me." The second song talks about how we should get our inheritance, i.e. the blessing of Abraham that we receive by faith. "The head not the tail, above not beneath, a lender not a borrower." Reflecting on these words made me think of how sometimes we carry on our lives like we're not really children of the King. Why do we CHOOSE to sleep in slop with the pigs when our Father's house is full of everything we need and will be freely given for the mere fact that we're His kids? Maybe we allow ourselves to believe at times that we're not actually that important because we are materially poor, or don't have a job, or are in a foreign atmosphere (whatever it may be) where we are not understood and valued, or think we're not good, smart, or attractive enough. That's what I call needing to take back what the Devil stole from me, or better said, what I have allowed the Devil to take from me.

If we are counted among the children of Abraham as numerous as the sands, that means we have the promise that goes with it. Some of us really need to receive that promise--that we are not going to be forsaken by our Father. Our inheritance does not end when we gain weight, are overlooked for a job, or when we make a bad decision that we must pay the consequences for, or when we struggle with a particular sin over and over. The inheritance we have means that we have something waiting for us if we will just accept it and not disconnect ourselves from the Father who makes us co-heirs with Christ. This is just one reason why it's so crucial that Christians communicate well that being a believer is not just having a pass to get into heaven. God didn't say that we will only see the benefits of being His children after death. He says quite the opposite. He says He will send us a helper, the Holy Spirit (Paraclete) that will guide us and help us live this life if we're just willing to listen. This Helper will intercede on our behalf to the Father when we don't even know how. That Helper is available RIGHT NOW to groan for us and communicate our needs to the only one capable of fulfilling them, and, most importantly, to help us understand what our needs really are.

Some of us struggle to take hold of our inheritance because of what the Devil has stolen from us in the form of other people. Maybe negative people in our lives have spoken destructive, hurtful things over us and we believed them. Maybe we just haven't healed from some other pain from people so we're still down on the ground even though God has told us to get up and walk. Maybe we're traumatized, cynical, or lack confidence in pursuing different relationships because of what we fear in others or in ourselves. The children of the Promise can't stay there because God created us to be relational (in whatever way He calls us) and we'll find that His grace is sufficient IF we are relating to others HIS way and not squandering our inheritance. Remember, in the very beginning, God said it's not good for humans to be alone. He is telling us community is important; yet we still imprison ourselves in the place of loneliness (or bad relationships)...and maybe later wonder why life seems so empty. Life is not supposed to be empty if we are comporting ourselves as children of the Promise--our inheritance guarantees that we will always have a Father even when our earthly one dies, we will always be his children even if ours go before us, and we will always have a family through the blood of Christ. Embracing the community He wants for us may mean we need to get OUT of certain relationships as much as get IN others.

So when the song repeats, "Get your inheritance! Get your inheritance!" to me it's urging us, the children of the promise, to move forward in our God-given callings in all areas of life. A child of the King does not willingly, unrepentantly show contempt for God's temple (your body) and squander his or her inheritance. We are claiming our inheritance when we say no to continually trying to find satisfaction and fulfillment anywhere else but in the Lord--when we say no to doing things His way because we don't understand His reasons. Our inheritance means that we don't have to fumble around in the darkness trying this and that to find the thing that will make everything better. Nor do we have to guess about the people with whom we should yoke ourselves. We don't have to read Cosmo or Dear Abby's lists of the 10 things to look for in a mate, or the 5 ways to build a lasting marriage. We just have to take our inheritance, which comes complete with the instructions for how to make choices, spend money, and raise children in the way they should go even in the midst of an internet, cell phone and ipod- using society.

When we stubbornly choose to do it our own way and deviate from what pleases God, we are not accepting our inheritance and taking our place as the head not the tail. When we choose to take hold of our inheritance we're choosing to rest. We don't have to stress over stuff if we're genuinely being obedient because the One who called us is able and knows how to give His children good things. We get our inheritance by living as those who know their Father will not give a stone when asked for bread and will not clothe the birds of the air but leave His kids hanging. "I am the God who healeth thee, oh if you'll only trust in me," 'The Blessing of Abraham' begins.

When you have an inheritance, life is never pointless because you know that as long as God sustains your life He has a reason for it. He may have work for you to do or use you for a purpose you're entirely unaware of. And since God doesn't need you at all, we should be all the more moved that He chooses us to be a part of His redemption plan for His world.

Get your inheritance. I just feel moved to keep saying it so that I internalize all that it means. I just wanted to encourage you to do the same and take back the years the locusts have eaten.

"You are the seed, by faith receive the blessings of Abraham. It's yours!" The Blessing of Abraham

May we all throw off whatever is keeping us from getting our inheritance.

Blessings!