Blessing is perhaps the most commonly used word in the Bible. The words Blessing(s), Blessed, and Bless are mentioned over 200 times in the Bible. So what does blessing mean? What does it mean to “bless” and be “blessed?
There are varied definitions of the word blessing as its occurrence in Scripture. For Christians, the word takes many forms and meanings. Among the many definitions of the word are the following:
* An act of invoking divine protection and help.
* To be favored by God. This means blessings are directly associated with God and come from God.
* To worship and adore God.
* To grant happiness, health, and prosperity.
* To give honor and glory to a person or thing as holy.
* To endow with a talent, beauty, etc.
* Bringing great happiness or good fortune.
When we are blessed it means “we have been favoured by God.” Thus, the word blessing recognizes the existence and deity of God. Blessing also recognizes God as the possessor and dispenser of all blessings.
God, out of His love for mankind, thinks of us in favorable terms. He has a mental attitude of Love, Grace, and Mercy towards us from before the beginning of time. The Christian learns of these blessings through the study of the Bible.
What Does Blessing Entail?
Christians often think of material possessions like a house, cars, “loaded” bank account, a good job as the blessings God gives to us. While this is true in that His ultimate desire is to see His creation (mankind) “prospers and be in good health as your soul prospers” (3 John 2), the blessings of God go beyond physical or material possessions:
* God blesses us with the energy and protection with which we use in creating wealth, “for ourselves and our families” (Deuteronomy 8:18).
* God gives us the wisdom and the skills to perform our responsibilities that will in turn bring success (1 Kings 3:1-15).
* God blesses us with divine health (Deuteronomy 7:15) and other such blessings that are not material or physical.
* God not only gives us these blessings but, more importantly, the seemingly mundane things we enjoy everyday but often take for granted. Such things as the air that we breathe; our very lives, considering the fact that many people do not rise to see the dawning of a new day; and the food we eat, knowing that somewhere in the world there are those who do not have the luxury.
Think About It
1. In reading Deuteronomy 8:1-20 we learn that it was Israel’s pride that led them to disobey God. Through their wilderness wandering they learned humility and obedience. Discuss the relationship between prosperity and humility and between difficulty and pride.
2. What are you asking for when you pray for His blessing on you or someone else? Numbers 6:22-27
God Blesses
The first and important lesson is blessings come from God and not from any other source. This is demonstrated at the beginning of creation:
* God blessed nature (Genesis 1:22).
* God blessed mankind (Genesis 1:28).
* God blessed the nations (Psalm 33:12).
* God blessed classes of men (Psalm 1:1-3).
* God blessed the individual (Genesis 24:1).
Every blessing we have received as well as the ones we will receive comes from God as an act of love to His creation (mankind). He so loved us, as the Scripture states, that He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” Genesis 1:26). With this in mind, we must look up to Him for our provision and everything we need to enable us to fulfill our divine-ordained mission on earth.
Look it up:-
Proverbs 10:22; Proverbs 10:6; Joshua 8:34-35; Numbers 6:24-27; Ephesians 1:3
Think About It
1. Why do we need to be blessed?
2. What is the scope of God’s blessing?
3. What is the content of God’s blessings? Is it only in material things or is there more to it?
4. Why are we blessed?
5. Why is God interested in blessing His people?
Bless God
As children of God, we are also encouraged to bless God. Although we have established that God blesses humanity as an expression of His love, we can and should also bless God. How can we bless God? Just as we ask God to bless us by inviting Him to call our needs to mind and respond in meeting them, similarly, we should bless God by adoring, praising, and worshipping Him (Psalm 103:1-2). When we bless God, we bring His glory and majesty before our mind and respond to Him in worship, reverence, and adoration.
Look it up:-
Psalm 103:1-5; Psalm 24: 1-6; Psalm 27:1-14; Galatians 3:14; Exodus 15:2.
Think About It
1. How do we bless God?
2. Why must we bless God?
3. What does our blessing do to God?
4. Who is qualified to bless God?
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” – Genesis 1:26-28
