I Am Blessed Beyond Measure

The five words in this title are not referring to the material things, monetary or otherwise, that God has seen fit to send my way.  Rather, I want to share some of the lessons I have learned, and am still learning each and every day, about what it takes to draw nearer to the Lord while being conformed to His image.

Sadly, these lessons are not learned overnight.  They come in due time, through the patience of the God we call Father.  Some blessings are not immediately recognized or appreciated because they reveal exactly where we need help in discovering and following God’s perfect plan for our lives.

Yes, we receive many different blessings from our Father in heaven as He supplies our needs.  But I want to share the importance of not kicking against the pricks—resisting the very things God may be using to draw us closer to Himself.  I am referring to the blessings that bring us into closer fellowship with our Maker, not just those we can see and touch, but those that change our hearts, shape our character, and draw us nearer to the Lord.

When we open our spiritual eyes and allow God to help us see beyond our natural understanding, we may discover that some of our greatest blessings came wrapped in experiences we would not have chosen for ourselves at the time.

Let’s face it: no one enjoys trials or tribulations.  I seldom ask God for patience, although I have done so in the past.  Scripture tells us in James 1:2-3, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”  Yet, it is often during these difficult times that we become more conscious of the Comforter’s presence.  The Holy Spirit comforts us and gives us another opportunity to learn spiritual lessons, grow in our faith, and draw even closer to the Creator of heaven and earth and everything in between.

You know, there is a difference between having blessings and recognizing that you are blessed.  The latter comes from a grateful heart that recognizes the goodness of God, even when life isn’t perfect.

Here’s something to consider: a person can count their blessings without realizing how many have been hiding in plain sight.  God’s benefits are not always immediately recognizable.  Sometimes, it takes looking back on our experiences to realize how much we have learned, how our character has changed, and how God has used those experiences to draw us closer to Him.  What we once viewed as a difficult season may later become a reminder of His faithfulness and the spiritual growth that came from it.

A good Scripture to consider and how we are to bless the Lord for all His benefits, regardless of how He chooses to provide them or what He desires to accomplish in our lives is found in Psalm 103:2: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”

We need to bless the Lord in good times as well as bad, even when our natural understanding tells us that circumstances are anything but a blessing.  We may not immediately understand what God is doing, but He can use even our most difficult experiences to teach us, strengthen our faith, and prepare us for what lies ahead.

Perhaps being blessed isn’t always about what God places in our hands, but also about what He is doing in our hearts.  The more we learn to recognize His hand at work in our lives, the more we begin to understand that being blessed is not merely about what we receive, but also about who we are becoming in Him.

And that, my friends, is another reason I can say, “I Am Blessed Beyond Measure.”

Written by,

Papa Boyd