Are we blessed?

Are we blessed?

11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to [b]be abased, and I know how to [c]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  – Philippians 4:11-12

What exactly does being blessed look like?  Is it having enough food to eat for a week stored away in our pantries?  Is it having so many clothes that a single room full of them might keep me from moving freely through it?  What does God equate as being blessed? Is it material wealth or ease and comfort in living? Is it good health and little problems or issues with my life?

I think about this a lot because the world around us is incredibly un-blessed if that’s the case.  There are people who grow up without both parents, or without any parents. Are they un-blessed? What about people who are sick from a young age?  What about parents who lose a child? What about people who, by no fault of their own, live in abject poverty and filthy conditions? Are they un-blessed while I am blessed?

I know that having goods in this world and having a good life growing up with parents who love me is a great blessing.  I can’t thank God enough for his provision towards my family. However, I cannot say that God has blessed me with these things because I am blessed, where those who have less or nothing at all are outside of God’s blessing.  Instead, I can say that God shows his care for us in myriad ways, but to be blessed by God has far more to do with spiritual things than physical.

A man who fears and loves God, who trusts in Him, who is promised eternal life, that man is blessed.  A young single mother who teaches her children about the mysteries of God, who puts her full hope in the Lord when times are hard, who thanks God for everything in her pantry even when it is empty, that woman is blessed.  They are blessed because they trust in the Lord, not because of their circumstances. Paul says that whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, Christ is sufficient. That is how we find blessing. By trusting in Him who loves us and provides that which truly satisfies, not simply the things we crave in the flesh.

We must get away from thinking that physical blessings equate with personal holiness, or that God favors righteousness in such a way that we should expect an easy or happy life because of our love for Christ.  Those who are blessed may abound or may suffer, but the rewards are the same: To have Christ in our hearts, God in our future, and love surrounding us. That is what it means to be blessed. In want or in plenty, let us count ourselves blessed by God.

God bless this week,

Michael