What Is ‘Blessed?’

‘Blessed’ has to be one of the most misused words of all time. Seriously, it has been said over and over and over again that someone is blessed because of some kind of advantage or privilege of a worldly nature. You name it: Money, intellect, beauty, talent, position, health, admiration, fame, personality, etc., have all been seen as indications of the possessors of these traits being blessed. The only thing that statements like that prove is that the speakers of such things have no clue as to what they are talking about. Being truly blessed, meaning by God, has absolutely nothing to do with the worldly state of anyone at all. First of all it has to be understood that God is the only one who has the ability to bless or curse anyone, and he does both every day (Num. 23:8,20; Psam. 105:7). Men can call someone blessed for their own reasons, and they can likewise call someone cursed. So what? Man is blind and all such things that he may declare are akin to a blind person trying to tell you what color something is. Being blessed or cursed is a thing of divine significance, and man does not have the capacity to understand any such thing apart from the Spirit of truth that comes from heaven (I Cor. 2:11-15). So what does it mean to be blessed? “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace" (Psm. 29:11).That’s it. The people who are really blessed are the people who have true peace with God in their souls. And I’m talking about a divine peace that goes all the way through; a peace that this world has never known, or ever will (Jn. 14:27). The scripture tells us that "the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rome. 14:17). The ‘righteousness’ part obviously means to truly be right with God, which this scripture and the remainder of scriptures tell us is by receiving the holy Ghost (I Cor. 6:11; Rom. 15:16; Tit. 3:5). And the result of being truly right with God is a "peace that passes all understanding" (Philip. 4:7). Friend, when the peace of God dwells in your soul, that is absolutely cause for great joy. So is the order of Rom. 14:17.

The apostle Paul noted that there are not many whom this world deems as being blessed, who are even in the number of God’s true people who are blessed (I Cor. 1:26-29). The apostle Paul himself was certainly blessed, though he made this statement regarding his worldly state: "Even unto this hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place" (I Cor. 4:11). But his blessedness was revealed by how he managed that worldly state: "For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be therewith content" (Philip. 4:11). That contentment my friend, was the peace that was the anchor of his soul, which was not altered by external circumstances. Jesus sent the following salutation to the messenger of the congregation of Smyrna in Asia: "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, [but thou art rich]" (Rev. 2:9). This man was impoverished in his worldly state, but Jesus saw him as being rich. And why was that? Because he was blessed by God for his obedience and faithfulness to God. At the same time Jesus sent a salutation to the messenger of the assembly in Laodicea: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17). So this man’s worldly state may have appeared to be ‘blessed’ by many, but according to Jesus, just the opposite was true. Why? Because he was not being blessed by God. We may be blessed upon receiving God’s Spirit, but if we plan to stay blessed we need to understand that obedience is the key to blessing, and the peace thereof. I learned very early that when I faltered in spirit, it was immediately evidenced by a loss of the glorious peace that I had through my pure relationship of holiness with the Lord. And the only way back to that peace is the way we receive it to begin with: Repentance, honesty, humility, and faith in the mercy of God through Jesus. If we expect to stay blessed and be saved in the end, we will need to take heed to the admonition of the apostle Peter: "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot [sin], and blameless" (II Pet. 3:12:14). Amen.