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blessed by God


There are signs all around us of what is blessed by God.  Since early in my walk with God I have used Psalms 1 as sort of a measuring rod to what is and what isn’t blessed by God.

Psalms 1  NASB
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

I’d say that is a pretty clear word on being blessed.  My desire is to be blessed and a blessing.  No, being blessed is not for personal gain.  It is for connection to God, success in life and the ability to be able to help others be blessed.  If you dig deeper, you will find a tie between John 10:10 and the “abundant life” that Jesus mentioned and the “blessed man” of Psalms 1.

The person who is blessed stays away from the wrong places and the wrong people.  They don’t take the counsel of wicked people and are not found following the advise of the wrong people in the way they live.  The blessed guy won’t be found standing where all the wrong stuff is happening or chiming in with conversations that are wrong.

The words and actions of the blessed man are based on the fact that this person has chosen to be firmly rooted in God, and their life is demonstrating this fact by the fruit or results coming from their choices.  Prospering isn’t only about money.  It is about all kinds of blessings.

Wicked people are cut off the chapter says, but blessed people find themselves standing with and protected by God.  Take a minute and look at your words and actions.  Are you looking more like the blessed man or the wicked man? 

One experience or setting stands out in my mind.  I was working in Honduras in 1999 and hiking with a small mission team behind the Loma de la Luz hospital property right on the Caribbean coast near Balfate, Colon, Honduras.  We followed a stream up a small valley.  This was not a difficult hike, but it was beautiful and seemed to be untouched nature.  As I leaned on a tree I noticed that it’s limbs were spread out across the water.  The trunk of the tree was right beside the stream, and it looked as if the roots went in several directions and were deep.

It was like God said, “this is the tree I was talking about in Psalms 1 that is firmly planted by waters.”  Reflecting on that tree then and even now I am resolved to be like tree.  I desire for my life and my family and my church to be planted deep in God.  I want our roots to go so deep in to the truth and life of God that nothing can make us fail.

Take some time today to read through and think about these verses.  May your life and mine demonstrate what a blessed life really looks like.  May we allow God to guide and provide, to grow and strengthen us so there is no way we can miss the blessings He has in store for us.

NOTE: this was originally shared in June of 2014.
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