And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. For our soul has sunk down into the dust; Our body cleaves to the earth. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that {the limb} which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed (Hebrews 12:3-13). You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things. Psalm 128:1-2 (NCV), Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 (NIV), If they listen and obey God, then they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. on 03/30/2021. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household. Ezekiel 44:30 (NIV), Give freely without begrudging it, and the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. Verses 3-14. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Of late I have been having discussions with my friends around what it means to be blessed. The Jews of old and many Christians and others today think of Gods blessings in terms of the immediate enjoyment of physical and material pleasures and the absence of pain. For, behold, those who are far from Thee will perish; Thou hast destroyed all those who are unfaithful to Thee. Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" ( Matthew 5:5 ). Few understand the blessings of God as they should. Perhaps the most puzzling passage in the Old Testament concerning Gods blessings comes from the Book of Proverbs: It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it (Proverbs 10:22). But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. Eternal blessings are full and complete, the enjoyment of physical and material prosperity, the full manifestation of Gods goodness and glory, and the absence of sin, Satan, death, and the curse. Oh, God, help us to live with faith. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Our Lord Himself took upon Himself the task of serving. For You make him most blessed forever; 2 Peter 2:7-8 Unlike many Israelites in the Old Testament, and most of the Jews of Jesus day, Abraham looked for a better blessing. Like Job, they would be badgered by their friends to find the sin in their life, and confess it so they could be blessed. AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. God blesses the Christian by bearing our curse in the person of Jesus Christ. He blesses the Christian temporally by His presence, by producing our growth and maturity, and by creating a hunger for the full and final blessings of heaven. Download a Personal Copy of these Bible Verses about Blessings! Philippians 4:19 The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. Psalm 41:1-2 (NIV), Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. Luke 11:28 (NIV), Im eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. Hebrews 11 and 12 Therefore pride is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. (20) If Gods blessing cannot be equated with prosperity and ease, neither can it be said that His blessing is automatically associated with asceticism (denying ourselves of earthly pleasures). Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your Gods, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. Deuteronomy 15:10 (Msg), Worship the Lord your God and his blessing will be on your food and water. In fact, suffering can be a blessing in the hand of God. Put simply, Gods blessing does not mean that we are free to indulge in every sensual pleasure, but neither does it mean that we must deny every earthly pleasure. This is to be the pattern for the Christians dealings with others, including our enemies (Matthew 6:44-48; Acts 14:15-17; 17:30-31). I will take away sickness from among you. Exodus 23:25 (NIV), Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:9 (NIV), Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Deuteronomy 15:10 (NIV), Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him. 100 When I speak of innocent suffering here, we must all understand that no mortal is ever innocent, save in the blood of Jesus Christ. They are paupers I mean, poverty-stricken paupers compared to the lowliest Christian. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other. Romans 1:12 (NLT), You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. You do not have to fear the future when God's hand is over your life. B Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. Your blessings in eternity will not. 101 See also Matthew 23:29-39; Acts 7:52. Bible verses about Blessings. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear. On the other hand, Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3). Be glad in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. Their journey to the promised land held many trials. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. There will always be some among you who are poor. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Gods blessing is the overturning and removal of the curse due to sin. This child was not merely an adopted heir, but Abrahams own son (Genesis 15:1-6). Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. They would do especially well to give careful thought to this text in Hebrews: And what more shall I say? It is not that one group is more spiritual than the other. J And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Bible prophecy reveals that the descendants of Esau will exist in the end time. These are the very ones who would be chided today for their lack of faith. Neither do we have basis for complaint if and when He withholds His blessings. This is what it means to be truly blessed. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. Such suffering serves as a test of our faith and obedience as we see from Jobs experiences.99 Precisely at times like these, Gods people find their perspectives changing and discover Gods presence as their true source of blessing: Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. These can all be good things, but I think you could also argue that if these blessings lead us further away from God, they are not truly blessings at all. Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! (11) Ultimately, blessing or cursing are the result of ones response to Gods provision of forgiveness and righteousness in Jesus Christ, the promised seed of Abraham (see Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-6; John 3:18; 14:6; 1 John 5:12). Of how much more value are you than the birds! They knew these blessings would not come in life, but after death and resurrection: All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. Death turned earthly, external appearances upside-down. This is the profession of Job: And he said, Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked I shall return there. In this glorious anthem, in which the apostle, tracing all to the Divine Fountain, enumerates the glorious privileges of the Church, and blesses God for them, he first (ver. He also promised Abraham that he would become a blessing to all who would bless him. When affliction and adversity comes into our life, we conclude that suffering is incompatible with blessing. It was not in Abrahams lifetime that the promise of a great nation was fulfilled. Your children will be blessed, as well as your crops; your herds will be blessed with calves and your flocks with lambs. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. He said, "I am the God that healeth thee." . You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES. It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If we would understand what in the world God is doing in these days, we must understand what the Bible teaches about divine blessing. Blessings that we receive, whether material or spiritual, all have to do with the coming of God's Kingdom, whether here and now in small glimpses, or eternally when God makes all things new (Revelation 21:5, Isaiah 43:19). (16) One of the blessings God gave Abraham and his seed (which includes us as believers) is that of being a blessing to others. But Jesus taught us explicitly not to expect them now. Men are not only condemned because they are destined to destruction, but because they deserve it and have decided for it (see Genesis 12:1-3; Deuteronomy 28; John 3:18; Revelation 16:5-6). Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. Luke 14:14 (NIV), Give freely and spontaneously. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. God also promised Abraham a great land that his seed would possess. Arouse Thyself, why dost Thou sleep, O Lord? He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. He blesses men out of His grace and curses out of His holiness. Gods blessing is not only the gift of those things which are good and desirable but the removal of the curse. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. And the failure to recognize this distinction between Gods plan for Israel in the Old Testament and Gods plan for the church in the New Testament has caused a lot of people to put way too much emphasis on earthly blessings today. 102 This is not to say they do not believe in spiritual and eternal blessings, but only that their emphasis is on present material prosperity. Gods temporal blessings are not inconsistent with suffering. (9) Blessing or cursing are not necessarily evident in the means God employs to produce His desired goal. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. The Bible that you hold in your hand is aphysical book with a spiritual message. Storing up spiritual treasures in heaven is far more important than physical prosperity. That means He wants me to be happy. Such men say if we employ the right approach, (their approach, usually for a donation), success is assured. This shall never happen to You. But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! Blessings, Physical. There is a sense in which our suffering bears testimony to the end of sins dominion in our lives (1 Peter 4:1). These are not always material blessings, however. If a nation turned from God, its promised blessings would be taken away: At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. of And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (3) What is the relationship between blessing, faith, and obedience? At other times, Israels suffering was not due to her unbelief and rebellion. Divine blessing refers to Gods purpose to bring about the good of an individual or nation, His proclamation of this purpose by His promise, and a program of bringing about this blessing which includes suffering and adversity. 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. This leads us right into the fourth blessing ( Ephesians 1:7 ), the redemption through His blood. Christians often find their third tithe years to be abundant with all types of blessings and invaluable lessons learned. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. The common factor in all the blessings in the Bible is this: God's Kingdom. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.