Are You Blessed?

When you sit at my dining room table, you see the words “Blessed Are We…” on my wall.  Directly underneath those words are pictures of my family.  My picture wall is incomplete.  We need updated photos because the family has expanded since the pictures were taken.  Despite the challenges we’ve faced, I consider my family to be blessed.  We take lickings and keep on ticking.  We argue, but we remain committed to maintaining unity.  As I age, I have discovered that blessed means different things to different people.  Sunday’s sermon inspired me to think about what being blessed looks like.

Psalms 1:1-3 begins with a list of things that a blessed person does not do.  These actions chronicle the path that leads to destruction.  Walking in the counsel of the ungodly turns a blessed man in the wrong direction.  It leads them away from godly pursuits and can cause them to stand in the path of sinners.  We’re all sinners saved by grace, but let’s be real.  It’s hard to live a godly life when you’re the ONLY one that has those beliefs.  Shoot, it’s hard to live a godly life when you are surrounded by believers.  Standing in the path of sinners can cause you to sit in the seat of the scornful.  That turn in the wrong direction has caused you to stop all forward motion.  Your once positive outlook is clouded by all the despair around you.  That doesn’t seem very blessed.

The text moves from discussing the nots of a blessed person to discussing what a blessed person finds pleasure in.  It seems that a blessed person will find joy meditating in the law of the Lord.  They do not find joy in gossip or always being right.  Their pleasure doesn’t come from the latest and greatest soap opera.  The blessed person enjoys reading the scriptures and meditating on the word day and night.  If we don’t find pleasure in studying scriptures, we have to look at ourselves and our spiritual walk.  Listen, I’m the first one to admit that cracking open the Word is not always easy.  But I recognize that I need guidance.  Are we still shouting from the rooftops and our new cars that we’re blessed?

Then we’re challenged to look at our position.  Where have we stationed ourselves?  Are we planted in the place that God would have us to be?  If we are studying the Word, we are in a prime position.  Our study creates rivers and streams in our life.  We are then able to see God provide in ways that we could not have even imagined.  He sends us help in unconventional ways.  We dare not move from our position.  The more I study, the more I realize that God is bigger than I could ever understand.  The more I study, the more I realize what it means to be blessed.

So, are you blessed?  Not with material things.  We all know that godly and ungodly people have possessions.  You don’t have to be saved to have a nice house, a good job, or a fancy car.  Are you really blessed?  Do you walk in the counsel of the ungodly or even continue to nurture all the parts of your own life and character that are ungodly?  Do you meditate on God’s word and hide it in your heart or are you waiting to be fed like a baby?  Are you blessed?  Beyond church sayings, we are accountable for knowing God for ourselves.  That requires commitment and sacrifice.  Take some time to evaluate just how blessed you are.  #wepreach

Questions to consider:

• What is your definition of blessed?
• What ungodly parts of your character need to be changed?
• Are you able to provide godly counsel to yourself and others?
• Is studying scripture important to you?
  • If yes, how much time do you devote to study?
  • If no, what do you use to guide you?