Are You Blessed By God?

“I wonder if we would declare Jesus as being blessed if he walked among us today; a man who was swaddled in a filthy animal manger at birth and died a sinner’s death.”

What’s being blessed all about? Everyone wants to feel blessed. When we tell someone they’re blessed there is a conceived meaning that goes along with what we’re saying.

It means that all is well. They are favored. Things will go their way. They’re lucky. They are blessed. Who wouldn’t want to be blessed?

Where’s the line between being blessed or unblessed?

What happens when things don’t go so well? Who decides who’s blessed? Where’s the line between blessed and unblessed?

Are you blessed when you get the new job and unblessed when you fail to get the next?

Are you blessed if you’re lucky enough to have gotten pregnant the first month and unblessed when you miscarry a couple of months later?

How about the person who gets healed at the altar, and the other who dies on the operating table?

Blessed?

I think, many times, we decide who’s blessed. We declare our blessedness when we think God shows up. We get a new “thing” and God is good. Something exciting happens in someone’s life, and we declare them to be blessed. Too often, we decide when we feel God has shown up in a situation.

I wonder if we would declare Jesus as being blessed if he walked among us today; a man who was swaddled in a filthy animal manger at birth and died a sinner’s death. Blessed?

“I was thinking about all the ways I could take control in the morning: walk into the doctor’s office and demand a specialist appointment tomorrow. Control. I simply wanted control.”

Being blessed doesn’t always “feel” good.

Even in the midst of midnight prayers, I am blessed.

Last night, I removed the “Blessed” pillow from my chair and lounged there for a bit. My mind toggled between one of my children who recently visited the doctor and Josh (my son who died two years earlier). I prayed for a short bit. Then I checked on my son, who I apparently startled. I exhaled, putting my hand on my chest. “This is too much.”

That chair was waiting for me as I plopped my computer on my lap and visited a group for encouragement. I didn’t type anything. I just read for a little bit. I desperately missed my son, and the infamous doctor’s visit, through the time of his death, was at a standstill in the front of my mind. I was thinking about all the ways I could take control in the morning: walk into the doctor’s office and demand a specialist appointment tomorrow. Control. I simply wanted control.

“Was God not good yesterday? And the day before? The day my son died, was God not good? Yes, He was good then, yesterday, today, and forever. God is good.”

God is Good (and that has everything to do with being blessed)

No, I don’t always feel blessed. But, my feelings aren’t the way I should define my life. Unfortunately, so often, that’s exactly what we do. We look at our circumstances and decide whether we are blessed or in God’s will. Something goes well in life, and people say, “I’m blessed.” Something great happens, and suddenly, “God’s good.”

Was God not good yesterday? And the day before? The day my son died, was God not good? Yes, He was good then, yesterday, today, and forever. God is good. It’s a fundamental Truth, not hinged to my feeling of the day, my circumstances, nor my beliefs.

“Our position of being a blessed man or woman has nothing to do with our circumstances. Rather, it is a direct correlation with Who we know and Whose we are.”

Being blessed is not about our circumstances.

A few weeks ago I heard someone say he was a blessed man. He was in the hospital with his extremely sick wife. As he heard the wailings of family members losing loved ones, he said to himself, “I’m a blessed man.” He was right. He was and is a very blessed man. But, I assure you, it has little to do with his wife, nor the fact that his circumstances ended better than those around him.

Our position of being a blessed man or woman has nothing to do with our circumstances. Rather, it is a direct correlation with Who we know and Whose we are. It is this positioning that makes us initially blessed, a royal priesthood, heirs with Christ.

Yes, this gentleman was blessed. But, that woman that was wailing; that man that was wailing, they were both divinely blessed, if they knew and understood the love of God. Their loved one who died: their mother, father, son, brother, sister, or daughter was blessed, if they knew the love of our Father.

Our circumstances do not dictate who we are. They do not change our attributes. Nor, do they change fundamental truths.

You Are Blessed By God

Stop switching the toggle button.

As I returned back to bed, I gently replaced the pillow with “Blessed” beautifully embroidered on the front. I’m thankful that God does not toggle our blessed status on and off. I am thankful that I am comforted when I mourn, and grateful that I am accepted equally when I smile. You are too. I invite you today to turn the toggle button to blessed and leave it there. You are blessed, even when you mourn.

Don’t Forget!

I want you to remember, you are blessed by God! Remember this as you traverse through difficult circumstances. Your circumstances do NOT stamp out your blessed status. Rejoice in this today! I’ve created a 10-day scripture writing activity just for you! I hope it reminds you just how BLESSED you are.

xoxo,

Rachel