Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD. Jeremiah 17:7 ESV

In a world so infiltrated with the curse of sin, it is hard at times to see the many blessings with which God has blessed us. Satan’s desire is to destroy the joy that comes from these blessings, and in doing so, he destroys the strength that joy brings to the Christian. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10b ESV It is spiritual warfare, and the battle ground is the mind which Satan desires to control. Make no mistake, spiritual warfare is real and at times can be overwhelming, but we have promises as Christians on which to stand…… He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4b ESV……. In the world you will have tribulations. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33b ESV….. for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13: 5b ESV There are many more promises / blessings on which to stand, but the question is this: Are you going to believe the lies of Satan or the truth and reality of God’s blessings? Believing and knowing does not always mean you will feel warm fuzzies inside, but believing produces a confidence and peace that only comes from believing. Let us look at past blessings, present blessing, and future blessings that only God has, does, and will provide for us.

PAST BLESSINGS:
We should never make the mistake of living in past blessings, but we also should not forget them. Remembering is important, but it is not a place for you to dwell. The reason it is important to remember past blessings is to praise God for the great things he has done. The people of Israel were delivered from Egypt by the hand of God, and God told them to move to the land in which he had promised them. The blessing of freedom they experienced was accomplished by the working of God, yet God did not free them to stay where they were. Had they not been obedient and left the land, I believe they would have ended up back in slavery. Remembering past blessings should increase the confidence we have in God to move forward in our walk and not to set up camp. Living in the past will make you a slave to the past.

PRESENT BLESSINGS:
God’s salvation by which we are saved / redeemed is a blessing, for we know that we have been redeemed by God though His Son Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Ephesians 1:3 ESV. (Read verses 4-14 to understand the full impact of this blessing) This blessing and all its benefits are not based upon any present circumstance you may find yourself in but rather upon the word of God. The world interprets blessings as a life with good health, being prosperous, and with few problems. I would agree these things are blessings, but they are only temporal blessings, whereas the salvation we have in Christ is eternal. When you focus on the temporal blessings, you will never totally grasp the blessings you have in Christ as a Christian.

FUTURE BLESSINGS:
No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV Only the Spirit of God could give insight to what is coming. For the Christian it is not humanly understood. I have often heard the statement concerning someone who has passed away, “They are in a better place,” and this is true if they knew Jesus as their Savior. However, in a better place is not what I think the future blessing to be. I believe the future blessing will be to look upon the face of God the Father and bow down to worship the one who saved me from my sins. When my faith has been made sight, and to live in the presence of my God, Creator, Redeemer, and Friend, is the true blessing of the future.

LIVING ON PURPOSE IN BLESSINGS:
As a Christian we know what we have been saved from, how we are to live, and where we are going…. past…present…future. To live in biblical blessings, one needs to read God’s promises /blessings from the Bible. Make it a goal this week to take your Bible and find as many promises and blessings as you can that we have as followers of God. Perhaps you might even want to make your theme song for this week, “CountYour Blessings”

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David