Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ"
Let your mind dwell on the first part of this verse. "Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." This is a true statement and stands
on its own strength. No matter what the situation in my life, "God is
blessed." In my highest point of joy and gladness, I can heartily say,
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." But also in
my lowest point, I should also say, "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ." This is a part of the action of praising our God. We
saw several weeks of being reminded that we are to constantly praise our Lord.
As long as we have breath, we are to praise Him and declare boldly His
blessedness.
"Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy
name. (2) Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits." (Psalm 103:1-2) Think about the ending of these two verses:
"... forget not all his benefits." Would you agree with me that this
is a very tall order? We are not to forget ALL his benefits; yet, we are told
in Psalm 40:5 that they are more than can be numbered. We sing the song,
"Count Your Many Blessings." It's a wonderful old hymn, but still
when I sing that song, I am thinking that it's an impossibility. So how do we
accomplish this counting and remembering? For me it is to just be reminded
constantly of the great truth of today's passage, "Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ." All spiritual blessings come from
my Heavenly Father, whether they be material blessings or the blessings of peace
and joy in Him.
I know I'm using a lot of Scripture today, but what better source of truth is
there? "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning. (18) Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." (James 1:17-18)
Why does God bless us? Is it because we have earned it or deserved it? I speak
as boldly as I possibly can, "NO! There is no way that I could deserve one
of the blessings of my Lord." James tells us He does this out of "His
own will." He blesses us because it is His good pleasure. I close with the
words of Job, the saint of old. These are the words that came out of his mouth
when he had lost everything. "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and
shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
(21) And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked
shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the LORD." (Job 1:20-21)
1 When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.