Blessed

Matthew 5:11, "Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions) are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account."

Matthew 5 starts out by talking about all the people who are blessed: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the makers and maintainers of peace, those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, and those who are persecuted and talked badly about on God's account.

None of these things seem like places for blessing, yet they're exactly the things that Jesus pointed out would be areas of blessing.

The reason I chose this verse is because of the definition for "blessed" that is given. Blessed means "happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions".

Regardless of your outward conditions... This statement says a lot!

Sometimes we don't feel very blessed. How are the poor in spirit supposed to be considered blessed?

Well, they will be comforted, and the comfort from God is more amazing than we could ever have imagined!

I can remember the times that I felt closest to God, and they weren't the times where things were going well. They were the times where my life seemed to be falling apart. In moments where I felt completely rejected, God comforted me and assured me that He would never leave me or forsake me. In moments where I felt alone, God reminded me that He was always with me, even to the end of the age. In my pain, He reminded me that He was my healer. When promises seemed to be taking too long to get here, He gave me perspective to realize that to everything there is a season.

I was blessed when I was poor in spirit not because of my outward conditions but rather because of the closeness I had with God in those moments.

How are the other people blessed? Those who mourn are comforted; the meek shall inherit the earth; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be completely satisfied; the merciful shall obtain mercy; the pure in heart shall see God; the makers and maintainers of peace shall be called the sons of God; those who are persecuted are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and those who are persecuted on God's account are blessed due to the fact that the prophets who were before them were persecuted the same way.

We often want God to just get rid of our trials, but what if those trials are the exact things that God is wanting to use to bless us?

You see, contrary to what we think, the biggest blessings we have are not when things turn out our way. The biggest blessings we have are when things are not going our way and we find joy, contentment, and satisfaction anyway.

For years I lived in the "I'll be happy when..." mode. "I'll be happy when I graduate." "I'll be happy when I have a boyfriend." "I'll be happy when a guy asks me out who loves God with his whole heart." "I'll be happy when I get married." I was missing out on what I had right in front of me though. Was I blessed in those moments? God was faithful and continued to bless me, but I didn't have the definition of blessed "happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of your outward conditions" flowing through my life. I wasn't exactly someone who made being a Christian look attractive.

When God broke through to me, though, a miracle happened. I found blessing, and it wasn't due to getting what I thought I wanted.

In the midst of my outward conditions, I found everything I needed when God showed me that I didn't need those things to be blessed.

I was blessed because of the satisfaction I found in Who God was instead of finding it in what He could do for me.

The "things" that we want can never really satisfy us. Only God can!

Are you struggling with not feeling blessed today? Ask God to break through to your heart and reveal what it is that is causing this. Ask Him to help you find satisfaction, happiness, and contentment regardless of your outward conditions. Then, you'll find that you're truly blessed.

Dear Heavenly Father,

For many years, I looked in all the wrong places for blessing. I thought that to be blessed I'd have my life going the way that I wanted. Needless to say, that wasn't what the truth was. The truth was that blessing didn't come from getting what I wanted. It came from finding fulfillment without the things I so desperately was seeking. Lord, remind me of how blessed I am. In moments of good times, help me to not forget You, and in moments of bad times, help me not to blame You. Lord, help my relationship with You not fluctuate with my outward conditions. Let my relationship with You be based on a true foundation of knowing You.

In Jesus' Name.

Amen.