We are Blessed

Toward the end of my last trial, I had a dream. In the dream, people were waiting in line to get a word of prophecy. I was sitting down in the dream and a woman sat next to me and began to prophesy reminding me of who I am and that I am blessed. She said the below:

“You are amazingly blessed. And yes, God did expose the plan of the enemy. God is bringing you into a deeper level of peace and you will see it.”

I woke up pondering on the dream. I wrote it down in my journal. I believe after we come out of difficult trials—God begins to build us up reminding us of who we are because we sometimes forget. Especially, when we find ourselves in a place like Job where it’s been one thing after the other. Our flesh just wants to give up, but our spirit is sustained in the hope that comes from the word of God.

Remember we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4.) Also, God’s reminder of who we are through his word reduces anxiety and heaviness.

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. – Proverbs 12:25 (NIV)

 

Blessed Means Happy?

During the time of the dream, I had been in a season of facing much anxiety. To my surprise, I’d been studying the Bible one day and the word blessed was in the scripture. Upon looking up the meaning of blessed in the original language—it’s definition meant happy. I was shocked! How many of you have heard a sermon that said, “Jesus did not die on the cross to make us happy.” I have and I can understand it.

There are lots of circumstances that come with this life where we do not feel happy at all. Another defining word in the definition is to be fortunate or blessed. The below definition of blessed comes from the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 which is all about being blessed.

Blessed: Makarios (In Hebrew) Blessed, happy. – Thayer Definition.  Fortunate, well off: blessed, happy – Strong’s definition.

God still Blesses Us Exceedingly, Abundantly, Above What We Ask or Think

Not only did the woman in my dream call me blessed, but she said amazingly blessed. This is beyond the norm. How ironic that Jesus would use the term blessed for the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, who are often overlooked, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers, and those who experience persecution and people talking about them negatively.

Most of these reasons Jesus is listing for us being blessed are uncomfortable situations. It’s the things that make us feel like giving up. Jesus is saying, even in these things, if we look up to see what God is saying—we are blessed.

He’s reminding us who we are after a form of some sort of suffering so that we will remember and not lose hope. This article is just that. A reminder for us all not to give up or lose hope but to continue to trust in the Lord and celebrate the fact that we are blessed.

God summarizes the basic necessities for Israel when they obey him in Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Obedience to God Always Leads to a Blessing Even When It Doesn’t Appear That Way

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the people on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.  The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock, and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.  The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.  Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or the left, following other gods and serving them. – Deuteronomy 28:1-14

 

Israel was a Metaphor for What was to God–Salvation Through Christ. We are a metaphor for What was–God’s covenant Commitment to Israel.

We are spiritual Israel. Meaning, we are a modern-day metaphor for Israel as believers in Christ. Remember Israel was an example of God’s covenant with man in the Old Testament. Now, God’s covenant with man is seen in the New Testament through covenant with Christ.

Just like God promised Israel all of these blessings for obedience. We also have all of these blessings as a result of our obedience. It feels like an oxymoron suffering and being obedient. However, this is a reality. The suffering can cause us to lose sight of the fact that we are blessed. Other believers may look at those who are suffering with snickering as if they had to commit some sort of sin for suffering. It can make one feel like he’s cursed. However, even in that, God says we are blessed.

The blessings mentioned in Deuteronomy 28 are blessings of basic provision. God mentions our families will be blessed, our wealth or economic security, our food pantries, and everything we do. Our enemies who set themselves against us will be humbled and defeated. Have you noticed any of this within your life? If yes, you are blessed. Even when things don’t look blessed per Matthew 5, you are blessed.

There are so many blessings we have as believers—I cannot name them all. I’ll just share one of my favorite blessings before I close this article out.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3

The above blessings are for those who walk in humility. They are guaranteed help from heaven. Sometimes, we may be humbled by life. People may misunderstand us. We may not have opportunities that others have or we may feel lacking in a particular way. However, these things can make us humble opening us up for the greatest boost to push us forward and that is the hand of God. We are blessed!

So, go ahead and play Fred Hammond’s blessed song below as a reminder of who you are: