How to Experience God’s Blessing in Your Life Today
When I was in college, a popular response to the greeting, how are you? was, “I’m blessed and highly favored!” Fine, except this answer conveys the idea that a blessed life is one with no frustrations. For young up-and-comers, that may have felt like an appropriate way to give thanks for a life of relative ease. These days, I still hear the phrase, “I’m blessed!” followed by a big smile. In addition, opportunities to better our lives or increase God’s blessing in our endeavors saturate our social media feeds. To accomplish this, influencers offer simple formulas or workshops. Some will even teach methods employing God’s Word, often taken out of context.
I often say things like …
That is a blessing!
Tim is a blessing in my life!
Certainly, affirming God’s goodness to us and giving thanks is an essential part of the Christian life. And training is essential for many of our goals. If you want to run a marathon, you have to train; and you need a coach to guide you in a way that will, hopefully, keep you from injury. To play a musical instrument, you need to take lessons from an expert. If you want success in your area of business, finding a mentor is an excellent idea.
But what about when life isn’t good? When we’ve tried and tried to accomplish our goals with little to no success? When we struggle with serious health conditions or when our finances are a mess?
Is our lack of success an indicator that we don’t have God’s blessing?
I think the question, what does it mean to be blessed by God? begs to be answered. What does it mean to truly experience His blessing?
Let’s start at the beginning with the biblical definition of blessing. In His covenant with Abraham, God promised:
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (Genesis 12:2, emphasis added)
In the Old Testament, “Most often, this word speaks of God’s favor on the righteous.”[1] The blessing God told Aaron to give the Israelites describes this beautifully.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24–26)
All of us know what it’s like for someone to turn away from us, and it is painful in the deepest way. Here, God’s face is toward Israel, shining with love and grace. A face that says, you are welcome with Me, and I love you. It’s not just God’s face that shows us His favor, it’s His whole being!
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17, emphasis added)
Paul Thigpen explains,
The word translated here as “delight” means “mirth, glee, merriment”; and the phrase “rejoice . . . with singing” means literally to “spin around” with tumultuous joy, shouting out the triumphant song of a victory celebration![2]
In the New Testament, the Greek word eulogéō means to “speak well of.” It can also mean, “having God’s favor … or his fulness.” But it means more than that, depending on the context. When we “bless” one another, we …
…speak well of with praise and thanksgiving, to invoke God’s blessing upon, which is God’s action in their lives or God’s intervention to accomplish His will.[3]
When Simeon “blessed” Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, he was petitioning for God to accomplish His purposes in their lives (Luke 2:28-34).
When Paul instructed us to bless those who persecute us, he intended for us to pray for them, that they would turn from sin and find salvation (Romans 12:14).
The question remains: Does blessing mean life without complications, challenges, or suffering? Or even a life free from spiritual attack? Does it include an abundance of material possessions or success in our businesses? Job considered this question at the beginning of his fiery trial. Job responded to his wife (who was confused why suffering had fallen on him–and rightfully so), by saying:
“Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. (Job 2:10)
Further, Jesus told His disciples:
… In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
I think the difficulty in understanding this concept comes when we look at outcomes as a measure of God’s blessing. What we perceive to be a negative outcome, in God’s eyes, may not be negative at all. He may be using a difficult circumstance to refine our faith (1 Peter 1:6-7). God uses our suffering to show a watching world how we depend on His strength for endurance (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Granted, if we choose a lifestyle of sin, we will live with the consequences of our choices and very often experience God’s discipline.
Even when “we do everything right,” though, things don’t always turn out the way we hope they might. Here are a couple of examples from my life that I think will help.
“Mis-placing” God’s Blessing
One day at Baylor University, while walking to my Cost Accounting class for an exam, I was worried about how I would perform. I did not do well. My thinking went something like this: I got a D because I didn’t have my quiet time that morning. In reality, I had not studied sufficiently. Friends came over and we stayed up late talking and laughing. I had my textbook and green columnar paper (yes, we used actual paper!) spread out in front of me. But I did not study diligently. Did God withhold His blessing because I didn’t have my quiet time? No. My grade was a result of my poor studying, not because I was up so late that I slept in and didn’t have a quiet time.
Fast forward a few decades. These days, I enjoy combing seashores in search of “perfect” seashells. Some days, I have great success. Other days, it’s a bust. If I find the exact seashell I’m looking for, does that mean I have God’s blessing?
Asked another way, if I don’t find the seashell I’m looking for, does that mean God is withholding His blessing? That’s a different question, altogether.
Outcomes are not an appropriate measure of God's blessing in our lives. We already have it! Share on XFinding the right seashell is a combination of many things.
- The right place. I will not find a Queen Helmet on any beach in Galveston. I need to be on the Outer Banks. Even in Galveston, certain beaches are better suited for beach combing. One of my friends tracks through dunes and marshes, and she finds amazing shells!
- The right time. Certain shells wash ashore at low tide; even better, at a negative low tide (which occurs on a new moon or full moon). Sometimes you can find shells in a tide pool left by a low tide. Still, you can find others along the rack line a couple of hours after high tide. Early morning and being the first on the beach are also great times to go.
- Willingness to be uncomfortable. The winter is by far the best time for shelling. But that means bundling up. Along with that, shelling is often at its peak after a big storm.
- Patience. On any given day, you may not find exactly what you’re looking for. Keep showing up and eventually, you will.
That’s a quick lesson in shelling. But even when I do everything right, I may not have the results I want. Certainly, if I discover a shell that is typically difficult to find, of course I rejoice and thank the Lord for it!
But God’s blessing is so much more than what we can hold in our hands or how successful our business is.
What Does God’s Blessing Look Like?
Scripture contains numerous examples of God’s blessing.
- A full and meaningful life! Full means, “Over and above, more than enough.”[4]
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
- Peace! Even amid difficulty, we have God’s peace.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
- Joy! When we “abide in the Vine,” staying connected to Jesus through His Word, He gives us a life full of joy. That’s what “complete” means in the verse below.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:11)
- The Fruit of the Spirit. It’s easy to think these character qualities are the result of work, but I believe they are gifts (Galatians 5:22-23). When we walk in step with God, we experience an abundance of …
Love–not hate
Joy–not despair
Peace–not anxiety
Kindness–not harshness
Goodness–not meanness
Faithfulness–not unfaithfulness or dishonesty
Self-control–not instability
These blessings are ours, regardless of our circumstances. Paul told the Ephesians, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ,” (Ephesians 1:3).
Of course, we have tangible things we consider blessings, like loved ones or certain material possessions. The greatest blessing, however, is the gift of eternal life. When we consider the opposite–eternal death (separation from God in a place of torment)–the blessing of life comes into sharp focus.
If we are His children, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior from the penalty of sin, we already have God’s blessing! If we walk in step with Him, we have even more!!
What I want you to know is this. Even when …
Our circumstances are not great
The thing we want most seems unattainable
The goals we strive to achieve are out of reach
Outcomes are not a measure of God’s blessing.
We already have it!!
And we have it now. Today.
If you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, let today be the day you begin a new life filled with God’s blessings. Read more here.
Journaling Prompts
This topic is a good springboard to reflect on the blessings that are ours in Christ. I’ve listed quite a few above. Use the questions below to evaluate how you identify blessings in your life.
[1] Warren Baker and Eugene E. Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament(Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 167.
[2]Discipleship Journal, Issue 124 (July/August 2001). NavPress, 2001.
[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).
[4] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).
