In our world today, when someone says he is blessed, people quickly think of the person in terms of wealth and material possessions.

Although wealth and material possessions are manifestations of the blessings of God, they are not The Blessing.

A man can have so much wealth, possessions, influence and affluence and yet not be blessed. There have been many, whose possessions have been a snare to them. Have you not heard of people in situations where they wished they could give up all their wealth and possessions to have peace?



When a man is blessed of God, he has a whole package. This package may include immense wealth, possessions, influence and even political power. However,  most importantly, this person will have peace, joy, assurance of salvation, divine protection and intervention among others.

It is the spiritual part of the package that makes the other part enjoyable. A man can have so much wealth and be miserable. He can have so many properties and yet be sad and unhappy. He can achieve so many feats and yet be dissatisfied.

Let us examine two men in scripture who had immense wealth and possessions but had different attitudes and disposition towards life for the reason that one was blessed while the other was not.

Abraham was a man blessed by God. In many places in the Bible, we see God promising to bless him (Gen 12:2-3, Gen 22;17) God fulfilled His promise to Abraham. “And Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver and in Gold….” (Gen 13:2)

Abraham was not just blessed, but He was also a blessing (Gen 12:2) A man cannot be said to be blessed until he becomes a blessing. Abraham was doubtless a liberal man, very hospitable and giving to the needs and necessities of others. He didn’t think anything was to great to give – including his precious son, when God demanded him as a sacrifice.

On the other hand, we learn from the parable of the rich man as told by Jesus (Luke 12:16) The rich man’s farm had turned out a great harvest which he had stored up and his barns were full. He took stock of his immense harvest and began thinking on his next line of action, ‘What will I do now? I know what to do, I will pull down my barn and build a bigger one, store my grains in it then relax and tell myself, you have enough stored for many years, relax, eat and drink and enjoy yourself!’

 

What was the reaction of the Lord? In verse 20, the Lord responds, ‘You fool, tonight your soul will be required of you and who will own all the things you have stored up?

A blessed man sees all he has as a gift from God and is always willing to share this blessing with others. He is never afraid of the future and is never afraid to give up anything because he knows God is able to provide much more than he gives up.

A man who is rich is not necessarily a man who is blessed. A man who is blessed may not have much in terms of wealth or riches , but there is something in Him that money or riches cannot buy; that thing is the blessing of the Lord.

I do not have much in material possessions or financial strength but I know without a shadow of doubt that I am blessed! God showers His blessings upon me daily and I know that there is something in me that the world seeks but cannot have because they do not know the One who gave it to me. How about you? Are you blessed?

 

Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the founder of  the Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in Kent, United Kingdom, where he works as an IT Professional. He currently serves as a Worship Leader as well as Home Group Leader  in his local church and on occasion, speaks at invited events. He is the founder of the Biblepraise Fellowship Online Ministry and Moderator/Editor of the  Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address,  steve@biblepraise.org