“Blessed” is a word that is used loosely at times, where the understanding of one being such is not fully understood. There are so many connotations to that word that it’s quite hard to capture its full meaning. Most people would say that I am blessed because I have a great husband with a fantastic job, three beautiful children, a gorgeous home, etc. And I feel even more blessed along those lines when I return from our many mission trips to Peru and come away knowing that God has given us an amazing abundance in comparison to the poverty we see there. But the word “blessed” means ever so much more, which I have recently come to understand, and it’s far beyond what we think or realize at first glance.
This past Sunday my pastor spoke about what it means to be happy. That’s something everyone wants but few people truly find. However, for those of us who are Christians, we are blessed just by knowing Christ:
For you are recognizing [more clearly] the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [His astonishing kindness, His generosity, His gracious favor], that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich (abundantly blessed).
(2 Corinthians 8:9 AMP)
Jesus made Himself nothing, gave up His very life, so that we could have everything, that is, eternal life with the Father AND abundant blessings now. But what are those blessings? Let me show you a bigger glimpse than perhaps you’ve ever seen. Take a look with me at Matthew 5 in the Amplified Bible, the Beatitudes, where Jesus tells us exactly what it means to be blessed:
Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] …
Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] …
Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] …
Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] …
Blessed [content, sheltered by God’s promises] …
Blessed [anticipating God’s presence, spiritually mature] …
Blessed [spiritually calm with life-joy in God’s favor] …
Blessed [comforted by inner peace and God’s love] …
Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] … (Matthew 5:3-11)
Wow. Just wow. That is a mouthful by itself without the statements that follow each verse. Naturally, we can understand through our faith that we are forgiven and spiritually secure. Beyond that, we are “spiritually mature” and “prosperous,” which would point toward being calm, peaceful, alive, happy, joyful and content. Every one of those words builds on the next to prove how we are “sheltered by God’s promises” and “nourished by God’s goodness”!
Being this blessed does not come naturally; it is not a given. It is a choice. First and foremost, we must choose to have a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord over our lives. That relationship signals the restart of our hearts, the choice that breathes life back inside our dead spirits. We begin to anticipate God’s presence and favor in our lives, but most beautifully, we become “morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness.”
Life-joy. This is how we find happiness. Not a fleeting day-to-day happiness, but a true joy that sustains us at our core. As one who has struggled with a lifetime a depression, I grasp the unbelief that can erupt at the thought of finding this life-joy. I’ve been battling depression longer than I’ve been a Christian. But God has come alongside me, comforted me with inner peace and His love, and birthed that life-joy within me that I can hold onto despite my circumstances. And as that life-joy begins to overflow in my life into the lives of those around me, then I am even further blessed—“to be admired” and “worthy of respect.”
You may be reading this and find yourself as far away from “spiritually prosperous” as possible. I’ve been there. I’ve been so spiritually empty that I wanted to end my life. God has not abandoned you because you don’t feel His presence, His love, or His nourishment. All you can do at that point is fight back to receive all that His promised blessings entail. He will supply all your spiritual needs according to His riches in glory. Choose life-joy today, and allow God to make you alive in His goodness again. The One who has promised is faithful, and He WILL do it!
The Art of Choosing True Life 