The word blessings in the Bible refers to an act by God. It is the means of receiving a gift from Him. This gift can take many forms and cover many different aspects of our lives. A true blessing always stems from God. We are the recipient, and He is the giver. I recorded a song years ago called “Blessings.” In that song, it talks about how our blessings can come in many ways that we do not recognize as blessings. We are so nearsighted and so focused on ourselves that we fail to see the big picture God has painted for our lives. Sometimes our blessings look totally different than what we expect. We expect happiness, joy, peace, and love. Those are things we call blessings, and they are, but they are probably not our greatest blessings.
The greatest blessing God has made available to us is our salvation. While we treasure it, as we should, this blessing came at a great price to God. It cost Him the death of His Son. While we enjoy new life in Christ, it can also bring sorrow as we must walk away from those who are still living a life without God.
Another great blessing is the knowledge that we will live forever in Heaven with God. This becomes real when you stand by the bed of a loved one who is suffering greatly and is about to pass from this life to eternity. We seek every means possible to keep them alive and hold on to this world, while the greatest blessing is letting go and being happy for the saved loved one to go be with Jesus. Sometimes we are so selfish that we can’t bear the thought of losing a loved one, but we are wrong in those feelings. Death for anyone is a painful reality, but for a Christian, it must be seen as a blessing in disguise. When we truly grasp what is happening, we can embrace and find joy in the blessing of death for the believer. In Ephesians 1:3, Paul reminds us that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
We are also blessed with material blessings. Everything we have is a blessing from God and should be used for His glory. You may be so bold as to say, “I earned these things; God had nothing to do with it.” How ignorant we are when we take this approach. God alone gives us life, God alone sustains our lives, and God alone allows us to have what we have. If I have a good job, God has granted me the ability to work and the brains to learn. He makes the rain fall and the sun shine on the just and unjust. Every good and perfect gift is from Him. In James 1:17, we are reminded that every good gift is from God. Everything on earth that is good we can trace back to Him.
Matthew 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
God also grants us relational blessings. This was in His plan from the beginning. He was the creator of the family. We all have a biological family, and in most cases, they take care of us until we are able to go out on our own. But He also provides us with a deeper family than those we share DNA with. We who are saved have a spiritual family. Hopefully, this also includes your biological family. We have been privileged to live in several states, and each time God has blessed us with those who become our family in Christ. At the base of these relationships is what is most important to us. The blood of Jesus binds us together, and our goals, our hope, our deepest needs, and highest achievements are rooted in Him. Because the root is the same, we have more in common. We are children of the Father, blessed with brothers and sisters in Christ.
I John 3:1” Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
Matthew 12:50 “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Our blessings are more a result of who He is than who we are. Yet the Bible does speak of some things we can do to receive and enjoy God’s blessings. In Luke 11:28, Jesus speaks and ties obedience to being blessed. “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” In Jeremiah 17:7, our trust in Him brings blessings: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” The Bible also teaches us to seek Him with our whole heart and we will be blessed.
Psalm 119:2 “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”
While those who are not surrendered to Him still receive His blessings, those blessings will come to an end when they die. Yet, those who place their trust in Him, follow Him in obedience, and continue to seek Him after their salvation experience with their whole heart, they will not only receive blessings here that reach the depths of their soul, but they will have everlasting blessings with Him one day. Which blessings are you seeking, the eternal or the here and now?
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