Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ… Ephesians 1:3
Webster defines "Blessed" as, "Of or enjoying happiness. Specifically enjoying the bliss of Heaven." It carries the idea of that which "brings pleasure, contentment, or good fortune." Simply stated, it is that state of being that we all want to enjoy. We all like blessings don't we? There isn't a person alive that does not enjoy a blessing! And, certainly, we are a blessed people! But, when it comes to this matter of blessings, we often view them in the wrong light. Most often, we think of blessings as being those things that are physical and material in nature. For instance, if everyone in our household is well, we consider ourselves blessed. If there is money in the bank and the bills are paid, we say we are blessed. If we are living in a nice home and driving a good car, we equate that with blessing. And, I would have to agree that those things are blessings from the Lord.
What we fail to remember is that these kinds of blessings are
temporary at best! That car will die one day. That money will find a place to
be spent. That home will rot and decay. Your health will eventually
decline. What we need to know is that
the real blessings of the Lord are not material or physical. The real blessings
of God are spiritual in nature, and these spiritual blessings will never be
taken away from us! Even when everything
else is gone, has broken down or has been spent, we will still possess the best
of God blessings.
There are three thoughts in the last part
of this verse that teach us the valuable lesson of How To Recognize God's Best
Blessing that I would like to point out to you.
This verse begins with a note of praise for
the Lord! Paul exalts the Lord for his greatness. He tells us that our Heavenly
Father "hath blessed us".
I want you to notice that these words are in the aorist tense, which is equivalent to the English past tense. At some point in the past, God blessed us! Not only are they past tense, but they are
also in the active voice. This means that those blessings that we received at
some point in the past continue this evening and will continue on into the
future. In other words:
1.
I have
been blessed
2.
I am
being blessed
3.
I will be
blessed!
It may not
feel like it, and all the facts may be stacked against it being true, but it is
true nonetheless! This should bring us
great joy and comfort to know that not only have we been blessed, we are
presently being blessed and there are more blessings to come! God is good and He blesses those He loves and
who love and obey Him. The rest of this
week we will take a look at these truths and how to recognize God’s best
blessings in our lives.
Scripture
to Claim:
"For You, O
LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a
shield." Psalm 41: 1
