LEARNING DAILY

Psalm1:1, How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.

Jeremiah 17:7, Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.

Psalm 33:12, Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen to receive His inheritance.

Psalm 34:8, Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Matthew 5:3-11, Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are those who mourn…. Blessed are the meek…. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…. Blessed are the merciful…. Blessed are the pure in heart…. Blessed are the peacemakers…. Blessed are those who are persecuted…. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you….

Revelation 1:3, Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Revelation 22:14, Blessed are those who obey His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates of the city.

Did you see the key word in these verses? Yes, it is blessed. I looked the word up to see how many times “Blessed” is used in the Bible – 356 time and the word “blessing” is used around 67 times. To be blessed means someone who received “good words”; they are in a sense fortunate to do so and are joyful and happy. The Psalms speak often of being happy and joyful because of doing or not doing something. The New Testament blessings refer to being on the receiving end of favor because of their relationship to God.

The Beatitudes describe the inner workings or qualities of a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. They describe a spiritual well-being that comes from a contentment that is not shaken when faced with difficulties that come such as poverty, famine, wars and rumors of wars, trials and tragedies. Look at the beatitude closely and they are not what any of us consider parts of life that make us happy; the true blessing is that the Lord is with us as we go through these situations. His presence with us helps us face these difficulties and that blesses us.

Because the Lord Jesus died for us, we have accepted His offer of salvation through His death, He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). Psalm 32:1-2 tells us we are blessed because our sins are forgiven and will not be counted against us. James 1:2 tells us we are blessed when we persevere under the testing that comes our way.; in fact, James continues that because we persevere, we will receive a crown of life promised by Jesus to those who love Him. Romans 8:35-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God!

Being blessed is knowing we are well off in our spiritual relationship with the Lord! Being blessed comes from an uninterrupted fellowship with Him through those spiritual disciplines of being in God’s word, prayer and times of fasting. Being blessed is knowing the presence of God in our life as we walk on the narrow way now and as we walk through the gate into his eternal kingdom.

“It is well, it is well, it is well with my soul!”