By Not Known
If you were to ask someone: ‘Do you feel blessed by God?’ they would probably answer with either a ‘Yes!’ or a ‘Not yet.’
Common causes would then likely include: good/bad grades (if you are a student), good/poor relationships with colleagues or with family, a secure/troubled career, financial security/burden, etc.
It seemed to me that our ideal of ‘being blessed’ falls into whether it matches up with our expectations. The more it matches, the more ‘blessed’ we feel.
Do we know what ‘being blessed’ means? Is ‘being blessed’ dependent on such transient circumstances? Or is it something that is totally independent of it?
This is what Scripture tells us.
Jesus says in Matthew 5 those who are poor in spirit, meek, merciful and persecuted, are blessed. He never says anything about material wealth and health as a sign of ‘being blessed’. Instead He gives the reason that ‘blessing’ comes to only those that seek God! For through this process of seeking, people who are ‘poor in spirit, meek, merciful and persecuted’ will learn to rely on God and see God for who he is, that He is reliable, gracious, compassionate, thoroughly provides for them, answers their prayers, and is always beside them regardless of their situations.
Hence, ‘being blessed’ is not dependent on transient possessions or circumstances.
In other words, seeking and experiencing God IS the blessing!
Through what Jesus accomplished on the cross, this blessing is now a possibility to be experienced!
It has great implications for us Christians. If you are currently stuck in the stormiest trials of life, as God provides you the ability to persevere, the blessing is not in the ability to persevere, but it is in experiencing this aspect of God’s character that you are truly blessed. Likewise, if God has provided you with the ability to enjoy the fruit of your hard work, the blessing is not in the fruit, but it is in experiencing the care and provision of God to complete the work.
So coming back to my initial question, if you were to ask ‘Do you feel blessed by God?’ I hope you would say: ‘Yes! I am blessed all the time, because Jesus Christ is my ultimate blessing!’
Thank God for Jesus, for it is only through Him that we can be truly blessed!
Amos Lau