- God the Father 11 (Photo credit: Waiting For The Word)
A blessing in disguise is defined when something bad or misfortunate happens and the reward turns out to be beneficial. Things turn out for the best. But sometimes if it’s not in our best interest but will have negative consequences that will hurt someone else when compromising your own integrity, is it really a blessing in disguise or should you still consider it a blessing?
To selfishly impose your own will and compromise your integrity only to reap the benefit of that which is acquired illegally and dishonestly I think can still be considered a blessing even though your response to it was unwise. You chose to make a decision based on self-gratification rather than selflessness and sacrifice. However, God can still bless you in the mess that may open your eyes. And alert you to the things he needs you to see, to correct it that you may glorify Him.
However, we mustn’t confuse the idea that when something bad happens and we are placed in a position where we are helpless but still are blessed as a result of it, with the idea that when something bad happens and as a result out of our lack of integrity to do the right thing, we reap the benefit. But remember, there still will be a consequence.
For example, when a person loses a job and God still gives them provision in it. Count it all joy. It’s a blessing. While you may not have a job, your needs are being met. And you can use the free time to spend with family, explore new options to enhance your abilities. Don’t fret. View it as a time to put life into the right perspective. Create new goals. God’s taking you to the next level.
In contrast, when a person goes into a grocery store and the clerk gives them way too much change. And they realize it but still walk out of the store with money in hand. Never once thinking twice about going back to correct the situation and make amends. Instead they think it is a blessing because they now have more money than they had. They believe their response to it was good and not bad. Their conscious was not affected at all. And in the long run, the deed was not good. Therefore, the reward cannot be justified. It’s already done. Consequences will come.
This past weekend my daughter blessed me to indulge and treat myself to some much needed shopping. So I went to the mall with my oldest daughter to see what I could find. I went to an upscale department store to look for summer dresses or dresses to wear to church and found a few I wanted to buy. I decided to walk around the store to make sure there wasn’t anything I missed before leaving.
As I’m walking to find a cashier to hold my merchandise until I returned with coupons my daughter had who was in another part of the mall, a sales lady in the purse department stopped me in my tracks and asked loudly could she help me. The encounter seemed strange. I sensed a slight bit of stereotypical behavior when she looked me up and down with question and yelled out to me as if I was going to walk out the store with the merchandise. My first instinct in response to her question was not in why she approached me but the manner in which she did.
Granted I was not dressed in my normal attire, not that it mattered. But based on the type of people I guess they are accustomed to who shop in the store, maybe I didn’t fit the part. Not to mention the clothing department items were relatively expensive and may have exceeded my budget but not my taste. However, there was a terrific sale going on that I could not pass up.
Being the person that I am, I overlooked her approach and asked that she hold the items until I returned. Her answer was yes but she noted with this weird look over her glasses, “We close at 9, so if you decide you don’t want the items we’ll make sure to return them to the proper department.” I thought “strange” given the fact I previously stated my intention was to return to the store. I brushed it off.
I returned 30 minutes later before store closing with the coupon and by the look on her face and the tone of her voice, she seemed surprised and flustered but helped complete the sale. There was a 20% store coupon offer available and I had a $10 coupon. I thought I could use both savings but the system wouldn’t allow it.
After she rung up the sale, I advised her I wanted to pay part in cash and the other part on my card. However, when she entered the information and asked that I swipe my card, the machine would not take it. She immediately said, “It must be an error with your barcode. Give me the card to swipe. She looked at it and said, “Oh, this is not a department store card but a debit card from your bank.” Hmmm was all I could say as I commented “yes.” Before she could swipe the card though, the machine automatically completed the transaction and as she went to hand me the receipt, she had this odd look on her face. She asked, “You paid $30 in cash right?” I said, “Yes.” Thought nothing of it, and took my bag and left the store.
When I arrived home I looked at the receipt and noticed there was $4.80 in change that was to be given back however, something appeared to be wrong given the fact part was to have been paid in cash and the other charged to my card. So I called my bank and the charge was not there. I looked at the receipt again and noticed her error. She entered $30 cash twice which is why the $4.80 change amount appeared on the receipt. I immediately called the store in an effort to reach her because my first thought was I didn’t want her to get in trouble or she lose her job because her drawer would be short as a result of the error. But the store had closed and I had no choice but to wait until the next day.
For some reason I couldn’t sleep and felt I needed to make this right. I woke the next morning, waited for the store to open, and called and spoke with the sales lady. I tried to explain what happened but she didn’t understand. She said with hesitation, “If I made a mistake and overcharged you, come in and it can be corrected.” She sounded frustrated. I dismissed it. And confirmed I would be in later.
The sales lady was gone for the day so another cashier handled the transaction but this person, even after looking at the receipt and my explaining it to her also was confused. She called her manager over who took one look at the receipt and said to me, “Thank you for your honesty.” I responded, “You’re welcome. I believe in God and my conscious would not let me sleep until I fixed this.” She said, “I do too.”
What a blessing. Thankful the Holy Spirit convicted me to do the right thing regardless of what my pocketbook may have led me to do. I made a conscious decision to correct what could have turned out bad. And most likely it would not have benefited the sales lady or me in the long run had I chosen to keep the merchandise and believe I rightfully deserved it. Additionally, the cashier mentioned the sales lady’s drawer was not short at all when she logged in that morning. She said however, had it been short the sales lady would not have been reprimanded because of a change in store rules.
Wow. To think, she may have been okay on her end but for me, it may not have been so easy. My conscious would have eaten at my core existence and eventually I would have paid the price for making a bad decision. It was a test of my spiritual integrity. All things happen for a reason. Even though store personnel couldn’t see it at the time, my heart told me my commitment to God and my honesty in making a wrong right allowed each of us to be blessed by it. I may not have received acknowledgment from my peers but I could feel in my heart God was pleased. Things were brought together by God and worked out for the greater good. All glory to God.
Oftentimes you hear people say in situations like this, “It’s a blessing in disguise, because you managed to get something for “free” without having to pay for it and saved money while doing it.” But I say in actuality you didn’t because it was not yours to begin with. And given the fact it was not acquired legitimately, it was not yours to have. You did not deserve it, unless you rightfully paid for it.
Moral of the story: While I may have had the opportunity to save money even though it may not have been in good faith or in good deed, a loss still would have occurred later. Not only for me, but for the other person involved as well. And we both would have suffered irreparable consequences in the end. No one would win.
A blessing in disguise is something that appears to be bad and the reward turns out beneficial. It is something we cannot see. Or it can work within us even when others are not able to see. Random acts of kindness, sharing a smile, or an encouraging word with someone can be a blessing. Count it all joy. God’s work was done through you. He sent you. He blessed them through you.
A blessing in disguise is an act of good will. It is a blessing of good will. Sincere blessings come from the heart. Show love, inspire, encourage someone. Be a blessing to others. Let God’s will, not your will, be done.
Be blessed! –JD
Matthew 5:16 ESV “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Joaynn510 