1 Kings 3:13 (NLT) And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!

One of the joys of parenting is being able to bless your children with the things that they have desired and that they have asked for, providing that they have behaved and been obedient. It is a joy to see their faces when they receive what they want. But a greater joy is to give them something that they aren't expecting. It's not Christmas and it's not their birthday, but you are moved to get something for them that you know will blow them away. It's a surprise gift for no reason at all except for the fact that you love that child and therefore you get joy from blessing them.

One of the things that amazes us about our Heavenly Father is that He actually listens to us when we call to Him. He is known as Jehovah-Jireh, which means the God who provides for us. Even though we know that He regularly does that, when we are in need and He provides for that need, we are always overwhelmed by His goodness and by His faithfulness. But then there are those times when the Lord goes above and beyond anything that we were expecting to give us what we didn't ask for. He blesses us just because He enjoys blessing us.

Solomon, David's son and God's choice to inherit his father's throne, was a young man who began his reign loving and obeying the Lord as his father had counseled him to do. The Lord was pleased with Solomon and He appeared to him in a dream and told him that he could ask for anything that he wanted, and the Lord would give it to him. Instead of asking for riches or for the defeat of his enemies, Solomon asked for wisdom and understanding so that he would be able to govern God's people. This so pleased the Lord that He gave Solomon extraordinary wisdom to the point that no one before him or after him has been wiser than he was. But that's not all. Then God gave Solomon what he didn't ask for. He gave him riches and honor on top of everything else.

When you love and obey the Lord Jesus, He blesses your life by His presence with you and in you. He also provides for all of your needs as you ask Him. But then, because of His great love for you, He also, many times, gives you what you didn't ask for and weren't expecting. He abundantly blesses you because when you are living in obedience to His Word and to His will, it is safe for Him to do so. God loves to bless His people, but many times, they are not positioned correctly to be able to receive His blessings because they are not living right and have kept their distance from Him. But when we love, honor and obey the Lord, we are in line not only for God's promise of provision, but also for His surprise blessings that go above and beyond what we ever expected or deserved. Position yourself to receive God's surprise blessings by living the resurrection life that Jesus purchased for you on the Cross. It is an awesome way to live and leads to the Lord's incredible surprises!

Pastor Joey Vazquez