"Blessed"

Writing this blog post has been on my mind for a couple weeks now. I just hadn't taken the time to write it. Then today God reminded me that I needed to write it. He seems to have a funny way of not letting me forget when there is something He wants me to share. So apparently there is someone out there who needs to hear it.

A couple weeks ago, I was getting out of my car at the preschool I work at 2 days a week, and one of my coworkers walked over to the car. This person is someone that I have "known", really more known of, or been acquainted with for several years. I don't really know her that well, but since I have worked at school we have had several conversations. Anyway, she came over because she said she felt like there was something that had been on her heart that she wanted to share with me. She said when she thought of me one word comes to mind. That word was "blessed". She didn't say too much more, just that she wanted me to know that and she thought I had an amazing family.

At first I have to admit I was a little bit taken back. I had to stop and think about it for a minute. And to be perfectly honest with you, I thought to myself, "does she know what I have been through, that's not something you typically say to a person who has lost their son." Then I thought about it more and I realized that wasn't what she meant, or what God was trying to say to me through her. For her to say that about me, she had to think that I thought of myself that way. There had to be something that was obvious to others that I was showing. I do think that I am blessed, but I wasn't sure that I always conveyed that to other people. So I began to realize that maybe being "blessed" has more to do with how you see yourself, and show that to other people, than the circumstances or things you have in your life.

I had been pondering that thought for a while and then I went to church this morning and low and behold what was the sermon about, "a blessed life". I didn't know before hand that that was the topic. I have been very busy lately with all the changes in children's ministry, and our new location that I have not actually been able to attend the church service since February 19th. I am not complaining about that at all, I was exactly where I needed to be, and got much more out of serving my kids. I say that just to say that I think it was not a coincidence that I ended up going to the service today. I just got things under control on the kids side and thought, well I will head down and catch about 10 minutes of the sermon and come back. So I did, and I learned more about what "a blessed life" really is. Here are a few of those things:

1) God wants to bless those who seek his blessings. Those who desire it. He wants to bless us.

2) A blessed life means to experience the favorable reaction of God to obedience. This means you are doing what God called you to do.

3)Therefore it is dependent on being focused on Christ. Focused on the future. Satan wants to get us away from God's favor. Satan's promises of fulfillment are only for today. There is no talk about tomorrow, and the consequences it might bring.

So what does all this mean to me? Well it means that I realize that being blessed is more about being focused on God than focused on my circumstances. Being blessed doesn't mean that you won't have bad circumstances. God sometimes has to use extreme measures to get our attention. Not that that's always the case in every bad situation. It doesn't mean that you will always have as much money as you will like. What it does mean is that we have a promise for a future. We have a reason to focus on Christ. It means that we can be joyful in all things because of what we have in Him. He will reward us for turning towards Him. I can honestly say that since I decided to turn my life over to what God was calling me to do, my life has been more blessed than ever. I have seen God's work and hand in my life more in the past year than ever before. Don't get me wrong I was blessed by many things in my life. Even when I didn't deserve them, and wasn't following the direction I was supposed to go in. I am so thankful though that I have gotten to experience God's favorable reaction to my obedience to him. So I want to invite you to partake in the favor of the Lord by showing your obedience to him. Turn your focus towards Christ, no matter how close or far away from Him you might be, and you will not be disappointed in the blessings you receive. Show them to the world. Don't be afraid to let the light of Christ shine through you.

Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts in under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where in gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."