When are you blessed...

... according to the Bible ?

Who does not desire to be blessed? If you ask in a congregation who desires to be blessed, you will see practically every hand raised!

But what do we mean by the term “blessing” or the fact of “being blessed”?
If you do a small survey, several main answers will come out: physical health, material possessions, money… and spiritual health, which unfortunately often comes far behind!

Very often, prayer requests focus on the physical recovery of Christians, while the spiritual health of the church is neglected… and that is truly a pity. We tend to see only the short term, while spiritual health is far more important and produces long-term effects, even impacting our physical health. If our spiritual health is strong, our moral and physical health will certainly be positively affected as well!

So let us begin to focus first on our spiritual state, and the rest will follow.

But what does the Bible say about blessings?
The image and understanding that many Christians have of God’s blessings often do not match the way the Bible defines blessing.

When are you blessed according to the Bible?

• You are blessed if you fear the Lord
  “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.” (Psalm 112:1-2)

• You are blessed when you put your trust in the Lord
  “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.” (Psalm 84:4-5)
  “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” (Jeremiah 17:7)

• You are blessed if you do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, but delight in the law of the Lord
  “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3)

• You are blessed if you believe in Jesus Christ, repent of your sins and iniquities, and walk in righteousness.

• You are blessed if you keep God’s commandments, do His will, and walk in His ways.
  “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them…” (1 John 3:24)

Of course, this list is not exhaustive; we can find many other sources of blessing in the Bible.

We see that sometimes we are quite far from what the process of blessing really is. Surely, we all desire to be blessed, but do we also fulfill the conditions to be fully blessed?

And if we have been blessed, it is essential that we also become a source of blessing for others through our way of life, our devotion to the Lord, our faithfulness, our integrity… Let us be encouragers of blessing so that many more may be blessed and enjoy the favor of God. And don't forget to be grateful !

Franz