Blessed… – Matthew 5:3

Before we dig into what are commonly called the Beatitudes, I want to share with you something off the charts about the word “Blessed.” We toss this word around pretty carelessly. If someone sneezes we say “Bless you!” or if we are really spiritual we might say “Ga bless you!” But this Greek word “Blessed” is pregnant with meaning. If you read the beatitudes in the Amplified Bible you will see the word “Blessed” rendered 14 different ways in these 8 statements.

» Happy
» Blessed
» To be envied
» Spiritually prosperous
» With life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions
» Enviably happy
» With a happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace
» Blithesome (Who knows what that means in this day and age – but you get the idea.)
» Joyous
» Fortunate
» In that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation
» Enviably fortunate
» Possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God’s favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions
» Enjoying enviable happiness
» In the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of his outward conditions

Clearly, a blessing is much more than a greeting, much more than kind wishes. And this is especially true when it is God doing the blessing.

A blessing from God holds Assignment, Ability, and Authority. I call these the three As of Blessing. Far from being a wish for good luck, a blessing has in it vision, power, and rights and permissions needed to carry it out. We treat our words very lightly these days and can blow off the power of words. God spoke the worlds into being with words! With this same powerful commodity, we make thoughtless comments that hurt others or destroy our own confidence. Consider the power of blessing:

Creation:

And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ~ Genesis 1:28-31

Notice that after He created, He blessed man. This blessing holds in it His expectation for man. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it.” It is both a blessing and a commission! But God never expects from us that which is too much for us. He never puts on us burdens He hasn’t prepared us for.

When God gives an assignment it’s much more than an errand to run. Think about Nehemiah. When the king sent him to rebuild the walls of the city, he gave him his blessing and assigned to him the resources. Since the king ordered the rehab of Jerusalem His authority came with it. Provisions provided and protection on all sides came too.

God’s blessing grants authority. When God told Adam to subdue the earth, God was telling Adam that he had the authority to rule the earth. God placed all creation in subjection to Adam at that moment. God handed Adam all authority needed to rule and subdue.

God’s blessing reveals ability. It would be unreasonable for God to expect us to subdue the earth if we did not have the capacity. This blessing not only reveals our calling, but it gives assurance that He stands with us. He will back us up with power. Adam could fulfill all that God blessed him to do.

As we meditate on the Beatitudes, God’s unveils His plan for us. We receive assignments and authority and assurance of the ability to be and do that for which we were created.

What follows is a path leading from a man on the street, falling through life, to son or daughter of the King, exercising authority and ability carrying out His assignment.

Thanks for stopping in today.

Walk in Blessing

Ben