Blessed

      It's the week of Thanksgiving, and I keep hearing this word "blessed" a lot. Just this past weekend at church, I heard three different songs that included this word in one way or another. 

"I have been blessed, God's so good to me. Precious are His thoughts of you and me. No way could I count them, there's not enough time, so I'll just thank Him for being so kind. God has been good, so good. I have been blessed." 

"God's been good in my life. I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams when I go to sleep each night. And though I've had my share of hard times, I wouldn't change them if I could, 'cause through it all, God's been good." 

"There's a roof up above me, I've a good place to sleep. There's food on my table, and shoes on my feet. You gave me your love, Lord, and a fine family. Thank you Lord, for all your blessings on me."

 I couldn't help but notice the trend. In each song, being blessed by God correlated with something good. When we think of blessings, we tend to think of all the good things God has done for us and given to us. However, when I look at Scripture, I see something a little different.

When Jesus is speaking in Matthew 5:3-12 He says,

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
  Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
  Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
  Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
  Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
   Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
   “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

     Is God good? Absolutely. Does He do good and give us good things? Absolutely. But do good things always constitute as being blessed by God? Absolutely not. I couldn't help but notice that in this passage of Scripture, being blessed doesn't necessary seem like a "good" thing in the way we classify "good" nowadays. We ask for God to bless us - to bless our lives, to bless our plans, to bless our families and friends, to bless our churches and communities, to bless our nation - But do we really understand what we're asking for? How many times do we use this word without really grasping what it means? We are essentially asking to be poor, to be sad, to be hungry and thirsty, to be persecuted, to be insulted and lied about. Being blessed by God does not mean an easy and simple life. It does not mean you get to go from rags to riches. It does not mean you receive instant fame and success. It does not mean all your problems go away, and it does not mean you always get the answers you're looking for. There is a quote I love that says, "I'm thankful for my struggle, because without it I would not have stumbled across my strength." God's blessings often come in the form of obstacles to be overcome, obstacles that become opportunities. God uses our struggles to grow us and strengthen us.
     A blessing is defined as "God's favor and protection." We have found favor with God. What do you typically think of with someone who is "the favorite." I usually think of the "favorite" child in families with multiple siblings, or the "teacher's pet" at school. These are the people who tend to get away with wrongdoing. Parents and teachers tend to look the other way when they mess up. They may find excuses for their behavior, or they may discipline them, but in either circumstance they freely offer forgiveness. They take their side and stand up for them in times of trouble. They privately correct them, and publicly reward them. In Christian terms, we call this grace. We call it mercy. I've heard it said that mercy is when you don't get what you do deserve, and grace is when you do get what you don't deserve. God gives us grace and mercy, not because of anything we have done, but because He loves us. We are His beloved. We have found favor in His eyes. Unmerited favor.

     In the same way a parent disciplines a child, so God disciplines and chastises His children. He chastises because He loves us, because He wants what is best for us. This is a form of His blessing. Proverbs 3:3-6 and 11-12 says, "Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths... My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights." 

     We need to shift our perspective. We need to learn to recognize our hardships as blessings in disguise. We need to see the good in the not-so-good situations. We need to see that in every trial we endure, there is a lesson to be learned. God is using these hard times to teach us. He wants to grow our faith, and strengthen our spirit, and He knows what it takes to get through to us. I'm grateful for all the good things God has done in my life, but God is still good even when the world around us and the battle within us seems far from good. If it wasn't for the bad, we wouldn't even know what the good looked like. 

     I recently watched the movie "Inside Out" which is basically a cartoonized version of our emotions. The basic premise of the movie is it gives human-like characteristics to the emotions of Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. It follows the adventures of these emotions as they fight for control in the mind of the main character. 

      As in life, Sadness often gets a bad rap. She's a bit of a downer, and the other emotions are always trying to push her out of the way. They don't want her to touch anything, for fear that she'll mess up everything. Joy always seems to be working overtime to compensate for the damage she felt Sadness has done. But in the end, we learn that Sadness actually played a valuable role. We learn that some of the most joyous memories were preceded by moments of sadness. Those joyful memories would not have been possible without the sadness. 

     We experience this so much in life. When your friends show up to cheer you up after a bad day, and manage to make you laugh when all you want to do is cry. When your mom takes care of you when you're sick, and comforts you when you're sad. When you sit around and reminisce with friends and family about loved ones who have passed, and you find yourself laughing through the tears. These are the moments when joy and sadness intersect, and it is beautiful. These are moments to be thankful for.

     When we think of blessings as only the good things in our life, then we are cutting God short. We are limiting God by putting Him in a box. God uses the good, the bad, and the ugly. He works all things together for good. Don't for a moment think that because your life looks like a chaotic mess right now that God can't use you. Don't for a moment think you are not blessed and highly favored by God simply because there is not a lot of "good" going on in your life right now. You are God's beloved. You are chosen by God. You are called and set apart for a particular purpose. God has a plan for your life. He can take a messed up situation and turn it around for His glory. He is capable of far more than we give Him credit for. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ever ask or imagine. He uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.

     Take a look back at Scripture, and look at the lives of those who were considered to be blessed by God - the patriarchs, the prophets, the disciples and apostles. Look at the difficulties they endured. Look at the hardships they faced. Look at their sins and mistakes, and how God bestowed His grace. If a single blessing, good or bad, had been withheld then where would we be now? If the lineage of our Savior had been filled with only good things, good people, good situations - then we wouldn't even have a Savior. Our joy and salvation is birthed though the pain and struggle.

     So when you count your blessings this year, count the confounding foolishness. Count the sadness and tears. Count the heartache. Count the sickness. Count the losses. Count the trials. Count the loneliness. Count the struggles. Count the hardships. Count every difficulty you've endured, and every one you're still enduring. Count every obstacle you overcame and everyone you're still striving to overcome. If it made you stronger, it counts. If it taught you a valuable lesson, it counts. If it led you to a person or place you needed in your life, it counts. James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

     We are blessed. God has blessed us with good things. He has blessed us with bad things. He has blessed us with the seemingly average and insignificant things. He has blessed us with easy days, and hard days. He has blessed us with strengths, and He has blessed us with weaknesses. God is good. His goodness doesn't change based on the goodness of our days. His goodness doesn't change with the seasons in our life. Through the highs and lows, through the calm and the storm, God's goodness is unchanging. He is always good, always faithful, always true. Thank You, Lord, for your blessings on me!