Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
When we say “I'm so blessed,” what does that mean? We see that hashtag on Instagram, on Facebook, and there's a lot of confusion about what it means to be blessed, because our culture tells us that if our finances are in good shape, if our health is doing well, if our family is good and our kids are not acting up, then we’re blessed.
What does blessed mean for the Christian? Well, the Apostle Paul answers this question in our Verse of the Day. For the Christian to be blessed simply means to be in Jesus Christ.
Every Spiritual Blessing
If you and I are in Christ, that means we're blessed. Paul says we're blessed with every spiritual blessing. That poses the question: what are these spiritual blessings? In verse 4 he says, even before He made the world, God loved us, so we're loved. He chose us to be holy, so we're holy and we're without fault in His eyes. And then it says God adopted us into His own family. See, these are spiritual blessings. Notice these are not material blessings.
We are blessed, regardless of what happens to us. I can get a diagnosis or I can lose my job. If that happens, am I still blessed? Yeah, absolutely. Because I am in Jesus Christ. I used to think it was really cheesy when people would come up to me and say, "Man, I'm so blessed." I'm like, "That's so cheesy." No, no, this is a person who, when people say that, they understand that their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. They have a hope. They have a future. They understand they're in Jesus Christ, so they're blessed and nobody can take those blessings away from them.
A Heart of Praise
In the beginning, I love how Paul says, All praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's almost like he's saying, "I'm going to lift my hands and say, 'Lord, I praise You. All praise to God.'" Why? Because he recognizes he's in Christ. He's blessed. He has a hope. He has a future. He's adopted. That realization that we're in Christ, that we're blessed, should lead us to a place of praise.
I don't know what you're going through today. Maybe you lost your job, or maybe you received a diagnosis and you're thinking, "I feel like my world is just falling apart." Remind yourself of the hope of the gospel. You have a hope. You have a future. You're adopted. God loves you. God's not mad at you. You're the righteousness of Christ. When God looks at you, He sees you as holy.
You are blessed. Paul says, All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, because we are united with Christ. We are blessed because we're in Jesus Christ.
