"God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways." ~ 2 Corinthians 9:9 (The Message)
So what precisely is a blessing? Is it a reward? Is it a miracle? According to Scripture, what exactly does it mean to be
blessed by God? And should it be a mystery to us?
There are numerous Hebrew and Greek words throughout Scripture which when translated mean
bless, blessed or
blessing. Viewed collectively they mean "
to declare happy, to speak well of, very happy.
Lamentably, popular Christianity has twisted the concept of being blessed by God to mean something entirely different than what God intended. Way too many Christians have readily bought into the lie that to be
blessed is to enjoy material favor with God as a result of
faith. And the avenue by which these
blessings reach us can be surprising, unsuspecting, even magical.
If we follow this logic, then the wealth gained by way of Wall-Street is a
blessing. Right?
Why are the results of a person's free will classified as sinful
greed in one case,
and as a
blessing in another?
The logic is flawed.
The mystery remains. . .
Much of the heart of New Testame

nt Christianity has been completely corrupted in the pursuit of being
blessed. Too many teachers and preachers have taken the focus off of sound doctrine and true worship and placed it instead to the idea of being
blessed with things, stuff, money, bigger buildings, larger ministries -- which even non-believers know cannot bring real happiness.
The
[wrong] thinking is that if God loves you and you are in His will, you exercise faith, and His favor rests upon you, then He will
bless you with a lot of extra things above and beyond what you'd have if you were just an ordinary believer. And we've fooled ourselves into thinking that if we do have some material wealth, it was God who
blessed us with it.
This is not what the Bible teaches. What
is a
blessing? And is it a result of faith?
Herein lies the mystery.
Hebrews Chapter 11 is often called the "Hall of Faith" It is the Scriptural record of those individuals throughout biblical history who had great faith. The examples we find here are a roadmap -- a guide -- to understanding true faith and the result of that faith. Look at verses 36-40:
Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated -- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Wow! Where are the "astonishing" blessings here??!
. . . Certainly doesn't match the depiction of being blessed as taught by Benny Hinn,
Paula White, Joel Osteen or a host of others.
Even well-intended Christians have tainted the notion of being
blessed by God to mean something other than simply enjoying what God has intended.
What did God intend? What is God's idea of a
blessing?
Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
~Psalm 127:3
[Esau] lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, "Who are these with you?" So he said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."
~Genesis 33:5
Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." So he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them."
~Genesis 48:9
God blessed them; and God said to them,
"Be fruitful and multiply..."
~Genesis 1:28
For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
~Leviticus 26:9
The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning and. . . he had seven sons and three daughters." Job 42:12-13
Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed his great mercy toward her
and they were rejoicing with her.
Luke 1:58
And as Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message, God can and does pour out His blessings in "astonishing" ways. Revisit
Genesis Chapter 12 where the Lord told Abram:
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Genesis 12:3-2
. . . and how did God do this?
Yes. . . By way of the blessing him with children.
Many of them!
Culminating in the lineage of JESUS CHRIST! (
Matthew 1:1-16)
The idea of being blessed with children as emphasized over and over in Scripture is one of the most overlooked lessons in God's Word. The family is no longer considered a
blessing by today's standards. Christians no longer guard their families at all costs. We see children as a nuisance instead of gifts from God. Children are often a burden, not a joy. We complain about the cost of raising them. Mothers

complain that children are a hindrance to their career. Dad's lament that children are a drain on the finances. Children often become trophies for soccer moms and dads who have to keep up appearances. And the number of women choosing to kill God's
blessing of a child is approaching 50 million since 1973.
Yet, when the parent or family burdened by
[the blessing of] children receives an unexpected
check or materialistic serendipity, they call it a blessing.
That's backwards thinking!
This must be a mystery to God.
And lest you believe I've concluded the only blessing of the Bible is children, lets look at some more:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation
of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
~Ephesians 1:3-4
Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
~Psalm 68:19
Are we to assume that God is going to
bless us in any materialistic way (either personally or as a society) when we've chosen to ignore the biblical definition of
blessing??
God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways.
~ 2 Corinthians 9:9 (The Message)
I like Eugene Peterson's Message; and in context is a wonderful story of redemption
beginning in Genesis all the way through to Revelation. But as with any translation
of the Bible, a single verse set aside as a lesson can be seriously misinterpreted.
Take time to read the full text of 2 Corinthians 9:6-9 in the NIV or KJV
and see if you have the same impression of the term "blessing. "
Let's just not be so nearsighted that we misunderstand what a
blessing really is. Joel Osteen is absolutely right in saying that the Gospel promises our "best life now." He’s just utterly and thoroughly mistaken on what the form of that life is.
Throughout the Bible we come to understand the theme of redemption and that Jesus was God’s
blessing to us --
sent as a child to live among us and He alone is the example, shape, description and picture of our "best life. . . ."
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
~Mark 10:45
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
~I Timothy 6:6-8
Mystery solved!
~~*~*~*~~
I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly BLESSED.
~The Prayer of an Unknown Confederate Soldier
~ Esthermay V. Bentley-Goossen
© 2010 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife

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God has also told us in His Word that natural disasters would grow in frequency and intensity as the end of the age approaches. This is to happen so that people will be shaken out of their complacency and lead them to seek Him. (See Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:25-26; Revelation 6:12, 11:13, and 16:18.)
Even so, as Christians, we are given these verses of comfort:
Ultimately, God controls everything either directly or indirectly by restraining His grace or allowing Satan a little longer leash. Either way, God is sovereign over everything and happily accepts responsibility for both "human suffering" and "blessings."
I, the LORD, do all these things.
He does indeed rule in the hearts of many including some world leaders. It could be -- and has been -- argued that Satan therefore controls the nations. This would be a stretch! Satan does prowl about like a lion. . . but nowhere in God's Word can we construe that Satan has control of nations or natural disasters.
Satan does not control the weather or rule the nations. God alone is Sovereign.
whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that
these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they
suffered this way? I tell you, No! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them --
do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
I tell you No! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
When God sends or allows disaster to non-believers, it could be for one of two reasons: either as judgment or as a call to repentance.
Clearly a natural disaster such as an earthquake does not come close to the eternal punishment of hell, but it is a taste of God's wrath. How a non-believer responds to a disaster is far more important than the reality of the disaster in-and-of itself.
When God sends or allows disaster to believers, He does so -- again -- for one of two reasons: to prune/refine us or to take us home to heaven! Christians are never victims of collateral damage and we should never think such. While there may or may not be a primary reason God sends or allows a disaster (Remember: God is GOD!), He always orchestrates every single detail. As Christian onlookers to disaster, we can respond in one of two ways: apathy or kindness.
When God sends or allows disaster -- or judgment -- to come to an entire nation, each individual involved needs to determine why God caused or allowed him/herself to be harmed.
God sends a taste of His wrath to non-believers that they might look to the Cross and find Salvation. God prunes and refines Christians that we will live in greater gratitude for what Jesus did to rescue us from eternal destruction.
As Christians, we should use the tragedy of the recent earthquake in Haiti as a reminder of the brevity of life and the equality of death as it happens on this earth. More importantly, we should use it as a springboard in sharing the ultimate solution to this world's problems.
God seeks to glorify His Son in all He does. Including catastrophes. Catastrophes -- like everything else in life -- are about finding our way to the Cross of Jesus Christ!
~ Esthermay V. Bentley-Goossen
on her blog, Expectant Hearts