Blessed… Are you? How do you know? What gives it away that you are, or are not? Can you measure it ? How? ….
I thought of what we call ‘The Beatitudes’ this morning when I wished a friend a happy birthday. I’ve heard those verses preached so many times…heard the word ‘happy’ substituted for ‘blessed’.
Defining it in the negative…. ‘not miserable’, ‘not wretched’, ‘not deficient’ …or ‘not lacking anything’
I’ve heard people respond to ‘How are you?’, with a simple statement… ‘Blessed’.
What does that mean exactly? Do we all have the same criteria for defining what it is to be blessed?
‘Makarios’ = blessed in the original language of The Beatitudes in Matthew 5. It has to do with having the favor of God. It has little to do with luck or favorable circumstances. (I’m afraid I tend to categorize things as being blessings by the favorable circumstances involved. )
I do know from my experiences with God that He can, He desires to, and He will bring blessing out of even the most difficult of circumstances, if I but place the entire thing into His Hand, trust Him with it completely, and wait. (waiting is really hard for me..)
I believe the only thing that truly defines a state of blessedness is the Presence of God within the heart. When His Spirit is within, it doesn’t matter the circumstances without. The blessedness manifests itself even in the worst of circumstances.
“When God raised up His Servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” (Acts 3:26) The state of my right standing before God, because of the death and resurrected Life of Jesus Christ, is my greatest blessing.
He entered into our situation to change it. And because He did, I can be ‘happy’ even in
mourning (vs.4), in persecution (vs.10), or any number of situations….because He ‘will never leave me, never will He forsake me.” (Heb. 13:5)
So for any one who feels wretched or miserable…for those who feel like they have some deficiency, some facet of their life lacking somehow…my Savior has just what you need.
Don’t fall for the enemy’s lie…don’t expect blessing to look a certain way. Don’t miss it because it seems to contradict. God’s way usually does contradict the world’s way…
Don’t court a shadow, follow Jesus Christ. You’ll be counting your blessings !
