For Christmas in 2016, I bought 7 different types of Aloe Vera plants online. They arrived and I immediately purchased pretty yellow pots to show off the plants in the window. You’re only seeing 6 but there was one more to the right in this picture.

One day about 9 months in, I noticed some fuzzy stuff down in-between the succulent leaves of two of the plants (that would be the second and third ones from the right). I didn’t know what it was but tried to clean it out with apple cider vinegar and a cotton swab. I left them outside in the sun. I did several things except FIRST go and get wisdom.

Finally I broke down and Googled. I discovered the white fuzzy stuff was mold and it was common. The cause? Improper watering, getting those succulent leaves wet. See how tightly packed the leaves are?  (Substitute pix since I already tossed the plant.) It is important NOT to get them wet. Water gets down in there and stays, thus causing mold.

You water from the bottom, i.e., fill the saucer with water and let it suck up into the plant. What I was doing actually aggravated the problem and in truth, the plants were a loss as soon as the white fuzzy showed up.

Not knowing didn’t stop the mold coming. The plants didn’t say, “Well, she doesn’t know she’s watering us wrongly, so let’s protect ourselves from this mold until she learns.” Nope, mold happened.

Not knowing did not stop the loss. It is the same thing with God’s benefits!

Not knowing about your benefits as a Christian means you will NOT walk in those benefits “any old how”. God doesn’t say, “Well, they don’t know their benefits but I’m just going to pile them on them and into their lives anyway.” There is actually a scripture for that:

Hosea 4:6  My people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge

Like my two plants, not knowing will keep you from your benefits, keep you from the life Jesus died for you to have.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: (Psalm 103:2)

That one scripture tells us not to forget His benefits to us.  If it helps you understand better, for the word “benefits,” the original manuscript uses the word “reward,” like a present or a gift.

Here are just a few of the benefits we are given from our loving Father:

1. He forgives all our faults and mistakes;
2. He heals ALL (get that? ALL) our diseases;
3. He purchased our life from destruction;
4. He encircles us about with kindness and favor, and cherishes us;
5. He helps us be content with good things (prosperity, wealth, welfare);
6. He helps us stay young (youthful);
7. He performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are disheartened, discouraged;
8. He will make His ways known to us (no secrets or mysteries);
9. He loves us unconditionally and bends down in kindness to us; bestowing favor on us;
10. He is slow to anger and overflows in mercy;
11. He has not dealt with us according to our mistakes and faults (i.e., we don’t get what we deserve);
12. He has taken ALL our mistakes and as far as the east is from the west, removed them from us;
13. His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting;
14. He even gives us angels who heed His Word and do His pleasure for us.

It’s like when my mom was fussing at God because she developed breast cancer and had a masectomy. A year after surgery she found out God still heals today. She was saying, “But God! I didn’t know. Not one preacher in my life taught about healing or said it was still for us today! In fact they taught it had passed away with the disciples!”

Wanna know His anwer?  “Eddie (her name), I’ll take care of those ministers BUT you had a Bible on your coffee table all along.” In other words, she could have found out about healing for herself just by reading her Bible and believing it. Not knowing kept her from healing.

Get in your Bible and find out what your benefits are from God. Then you can walk in them and enjoy your life even more!

You have His Word on it!