I want to be blessed!

One of my favorite passages of scripture to meditate on and memorize was Psalm 1. It starts with “Blessed is the man who…” I figured if there was a good chapter to really learn, it would be that one! I want to know how to be a blessed woman! The more I study my Bible, the more I see that there are several passages that instruct us on being a blessed individual. Today we will examine one of those such chapters.

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 112:1-10

Qualities of one who is blessed:

• He/she fears the Lord. (vs. 1) All through the Bible we are commanded to have a healthy fear and respect of the Lord. Just as we did not want to disappoint and disobey our parents growing up, (most of us felt this way, anyway) we should even more want to please our Father in heaven!
• He/she delighteth greatly in God’s commandments. (vs. 1) We must develop a love for the Word of God. It is our guide, our teacher, and our assurance/reassurance in this world.
• He shows favor and lendeth, and giveth to the poor. (vs. 5, vs. 9) If Jesus is our example, we will notice that he always gave of himself. His time, his energy, his blessing, his healing, whatever he had. He never asked for anything in return, except that others follow him, and serve God. When you give to others, be sure to let them know where your generosity comes from. Leave a tract, say a prayer with someone, give your testimony. Always make it about Him, not about you.
• He guides his affairs with discretion. (vs. 5) This word discretion means to judge or deem worthy according to divine law. We ought to judge our affairs and see whether they be worthy of participating in or not. Weigh our decisions and actions against scripture.

How will he be blessed?

• His seed shall be mighty upon the earth. (vs. 2) We spend unnecessary time worrying about our children’s futures here on this earth. God will take care of them, he will protect them and give them good things, just as he has given us. What we SHOULD be worried about is their eternal future. Are they saved? Do they see Christ in us as parents and grandparents? Set them up for a beautiful future with Christ as their savior, and teach them to fully rely on Him. God will take care of the rest.
• The generation of the upright shall be blessed. (vs. 2) This goes along with the previous one. Be upright, walk with God, leave a lasting spiritual legacy for your children and grandchildren, and you will all be blessed by following Christ.
• Wealth and riches shall be in his house. (vs. 3) Wealth and riches can have many meanings. In this case, wealth means ‘enough’. When we have what we need, and our family is taken care of, we are wealthy! God’s blessings come in more forms than just in money and prestige.
• The blessed man shall have light in the darkness. (vs. 4) There has been no time in my lifetime where this is more applicable than now. So much evil and darkness abounds in this world. God’s people have the light. We have hope. We must shine it forth, and share it with those who have no hope.
• He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. (vs. 7) No matter what goes on around us, we can rest assured that God is in control, and will always look after his children. Nothing happens outside of His will. Remember, the same God that preserved Jonah in the belly of the giant fish, and spared the three Hebrew children from being burned alive can preserve us in these trying times!
• His heart is established. (vs. 8) This word established means propped up, leaning on, or standing fast. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness! He is what we lean on, and when we don’t have strength to do it ourselves, he does it for us.

All of these things are possible if you live the life of a blessed man. Praise God for his goodness to us!