Abundantly Blessed

 

Betty, her face shining, declares, “We are so blessed!” When most of us speak of a blessing, we are realizing the goodness of God in our lives perhaps without knowing that the OT word translated BLESS indicates speaking good things about the recipient. That is, God speaks well of me — and I am to speak well of Him.

Further, when God blesses, those words are empowering and transforming, words that accomplish His purpose, words that have a sense of inevitability. When they have been uttered, they cannot be retracted.

When a blessing was given by a person, it is a prayer to God, but when God gives a blessing, it is an assurance, a promise that will be fulfilled according to any conditions it might involve.

Numbers 6:24–26. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

This well-known blessing came with conditions. God’s people were either blessed as a result of their obedience or cursed as a result of their disobedience. His blessings often included the promise of offspring, land, and material prosperity. Blessing was so central to the life of God’s covenant people that “May God bless you” became a greeting, and as God blessed them, they blessed Him in worship. Worship blesses by declaring words of God’s goodness, power and other qualities, but also by following through. That is, God is blessed by obedience, not mere words without action.

Proverbs 3:33. “The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.”

This is more than an OT idea. The NT stresses that “faith without works is dead” in the sense that saying that I believe God must be demonstrated by my actions. It is the same with worship. Jesus said we offer “in spirit and in truth” meaning our worship must be accompanied by obedience or it is hypocrisy.

Material prosperity is not necessarily a sign of being blessed by obeying God, but He does bless with salvation, spiritual blessings in this life, and an eventual entrance into His eternal kingdom.

Acts 3:26. “God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Ephesians 1:3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

Matthew 25:34. (Jesus speaking of the judgment says) “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Again, not all Christians are materially blessed, yet He promises an “abundant life” and takes care of all our needs with this caveat: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Of note, the NT word for blessing also includes giving thanks before a meal, just as Jesus blessed food for the crowds and the bread in the upper room. We bless God and thank Him that we can enjoy both salvation and the good things He gives, including our daily needs.

1 Timothy 4:4–5. “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Looking at the way God blesses His people gives me countless ways I can bless Him and others. That means looking and acting on what He shows me. I easily fall into the trap of academia — thinking that knowing truth is enough. However, to be a blessing like God blesses means that whatever I say about God and about people will be followed up by doing whatever those words imply!