Are you blessed? Do you even consider yourself blessed? By what standard could you come to the conclusion that you are among those who could say, “I am blessed”?
We are coming up to that very special time of the year when, at the Feast of Tabernacles, little children are brought forward to be specially blessed through prayer to God and the laying on of hands by the ministry. This practice is based on the Biblical example established by Jesus Christ, and as we find recorded in Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16 and Luke 18:15-17.
In what way were those children “blessed” by the actions of Jesus Christ?
Jesus, by blessing the little children who were brought to Him, asked that God would help and watch over them. Implicit in His actions was the fact that God responded by having those children set apart for His unique care. Exactly how all that played out largely depended on the choices the children made throughout their lifetimes.
We can understand how blessings from God are given by considering Adam and Eve. God richly and abundantly blessed them with every physical need, and He offered them the opportunity to be even further blessed with His gift of eternal life. However, both Adam and Eve rejected God’s blessings through their disobedience to Him! By their own actions, they cut themselves off from the blessings of God.
Throughout the Word of God there are stories of individuals who received God’s blessings as well as of those who lost them. Obedience to God is the pivotal issue for having and keeping the blessings that God gives.
In our own time, we have witnessed people who have been tremendously blessed by God but who have rejected His blessings. How? They have rejected His calling, along with the priceless atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the unparalleled gift of God’s Holy Spirit–and they have turned back to this world and its ways. No longer are they set apart from this world to receive the continuing blessings of God!
As these Fall Holy Days approach, let’s make it a point to come before God to thank Him for all that He does for us. Thank Him for the richness of His blessings that are truly brim full and running over–blessings that we have now and blessings that we shall have through His immutable promises.
Let me ask one more time, Are YOU blessed?
Here is the answer, from Psalm 128:1: “Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.”
