Tag: faith in God

What Does it Mean to Be Blessed?

On By Carmen1 Comment

We’ve all seen the decorative motif “BLESSED” worn or displayed proudly on personal items like t-shirts, bracelets, pillows, and—yes, even on license plates!

But what does it mean to be blessed?

I think many of us would agree that a blessing is something that benefits us and makes us happy.

For example, a blessing could be something that we’ve been wanting or anticipating, like a home or a trip that we’ve been saving for.

It could be having enough money in an account to take care of emergencies, help others, or provide for anything you want or need.

Or it could even be something that is not material or monetary, like good news from the doctor about a health concern.

Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about blessings.

The Blessing of Peace

In the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul writes to those in the church in Philippi about having peace in their daily lives.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

What a blessing peace is in the midst of turmoil!

God wants us to have this type of peace “that surpasses all understanding” when we face uncertain times much like today.

We are experiencing many issues within and outside the U.S. that make the most confident of men concerned.

Economic uncertainty, division (even within our families and churches) due to political turmoil, and wars and rumors of wars are at an all-time high.

When we understand and believe that God is still on the throne, we can give these concerns to Him and relax knowing that He is in charge of ALL the affairs of the world.

This doesn’t mean that we have a nonchalant attitude. On the contrary, we should stay informed of what’s going on, but we don’t let it overwhelm us and ruin our peace.

If you’re a child of God and you’ve walked with Him through good times and bad, you know that He loves you and will take you through the storms of life to a better outcome.

Trials serve to build our trust in God and create an unshakeable faith that brings peace.

For more on the promise of faith, see my post Trusting God.

The Blessing of Discipline

While most of us don’t like discipline, we would welcome it if we understood the blessing it holds for us.

The author of Psalm 94 tells us so.

Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord,
    the one you teach from your law;

Psalm 94:12

Likewise, the author of Hebrews 12 expounds on the blessing of discipline from the LORD.

“. . .My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and don’t give up when he corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
    and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. . .For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

Hebrews 12:5-11

If you are a godly parent, you instruct your children so they know what is best for them. You want them to act in a way that leads them to good outcomes so they may have productive lives that lead to peace and happiness.

When they act in ways that bring destruction into their lives, you discipline them and give them consequences for their actions to turn them around.

Discipline does not mean abuse; it means loving instruction and consequences for wrong actions. Your child may not like it, but you do it because you love them and want what is best for their future.

This is why God disciplines us—to lead us to a sound future with peace and happiness.

The Blessing of Eternal Life

Who wouldn’t want to live forever in a world of continual peace, without physical and emotional pain, rejection, unjust criticism, lies, fraud, division, war, —you name it?

This is the way God intended for us to live from the creation of the world. This is the way that Adam and Eve, the first man and woman God created, lived in the beginning with God.

But sin changed all that by separating us physically from God. We were thrown out of the Garden of Eden and placed in a tainted world susceptible to Satan’s wiles.

Because of sin everything changed, and we now live with all the consequences that drive discontent and fear into our lives.

Our hearts, minds, and bodies are affected by sin every day which is why we see so much mental illness, disease and premature death, as well as division among family members and fellow citizens.

Thankfully, God has provided the solution to this sin problem and its effects. He has promised us that we can go back to the way He intended us to live from the beginning.

This is the promise of eternal life with Him in peace and without the woes of the world we experience today.

We can have this peace today while we’re still living in this world AND be reunited with our heavenly Father when we are called home.

The apostle John who lived and walked with the LORD Jesus over two-thousand years ago bears witness in his letter to us.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 

John 3:16-18

There is a choice that we have to make—we must recognize that we are sinners, repent of our sins, ask the LORD Jesus to save us, and earnestly seek after Him.

We must choose to receive His free gift of eternal life simply by believing in Him.

My prayer for you is to choose (if you haven’t already) Jesus Christ as your LORD and Savior so you will have the blessing of eternal life.

In my next post I plan to write about and explain the blessings we receive when we follow our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ as he taught us in Matthew 5 from His Sermon on the Mount. I hope you’ll join me.

If you would like to receive more about the goodness of God, subscribe to my email list below.

As usual, I have included a beautiful song for your listening pleasure, and I can’t think of a more uplifting song to share with you for this post.

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my previous posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.

Trusting God

On By Carmen1 Comment

What do you do when you feel deep inside that a life storm is on the horizon? You’ve seen the warning signs and you know that trouble is around the corner. You just don’t know if the trouble will directly affect you. I’m not writing about a person who has a habit of worrying, rather someone who has committed their life to Jesus and has walked with Him; someone who has acknowledged and experienced God’s blessings in their life, but now is in the middle of a storm. Life has been pretty good for a while, and now despite all your efforts a storm is heading in your direction.

This is what is going on in our life and I’ll explain, but first I want to share a scripture verse that can help bring perspective and assuage fear.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 
Isaiah 41:10

God gave us scripture (His word) for many reasons, one of which is to encourage us. His word is true and can be trusted. I know this personally because I have had occasion to deal with storms in the past and I have relied on God’s word to help me through each one. The anxiety could have done me in if I had not redirected my focus and belief to what God says. There were times during bad situations that fear would rise in me; I had to carry a notecard in my pocket with specific scripture to read several times daily. This helped me overcome my distress and although my future was unknown to me, God knew all about it—and He knows now. He also knows all about your situation that is causing you anxiety.

It helps me to really question my faith in times like this. I tell myself if I can believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then I should be able to believe that He can protect me through a dark storm.

Reread the scripture verse above from Isaiah. He is telling us that He will uphold us, so we should hold on until God changes the situation or takes us through the storm. This means that we don’t give up if we don’t see results quick enough. It means that we trust blindly. A side note, we should also be open to what He tells us to do or gives us to do—even if it is hard or we don’t like it.

I remember many years ago listening to Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas. I had a cassette series of his sermons on faith that I listened to while I jogged around my neighborhood that helped me tremendously. I remember Dr. Evans saying “Life is full of trials; you are either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or about to go into one.” There is no way to avoid them, so we must accept this fact and learn to grow in faith in God. Below is one of the scripture verses that I memorized and still use today, thanks to Dr. Evans.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 
Hebrews 6:11

This verse has always meant so much to me. It has helped me understand that I must have faith in God before I see His answer; that I have to hold on to His word; and that He will reward me for my faith. This is one of those verses that I wrote down and put in strategic places that would remind me daily of my part, which helped to relieve my fears. I have good news for you, my friend—God will do His part! I am happy to share that I’ve been there, done that. May this be a blessing to you while you are walking with God through your storm.

If you are a Christ follower and you are seeking God and His will, He will provide for you in good times and difficult times. This provision comes not only in our basic needs like food, shelter, and money to pay the bills; it also comes as messages to us through the Holy Spirit while we’re seeking Him. What I mean is that God will speak to us through the Holy Spirit to keep us on His path and He will provide a word in time of need. For example, recently one Sunday while eating breakfast before I started getting ready for church, I was watching Dr. Charles Stanley on TV. “It just so happened” that Dr. Stanley’s message was about levels of faith—exactly what I needed to hear and be reminded of. God’s timing is perfect!

Our Current Situation:

My husband was informed a few weeks ago that there would be layoffs in the company he works for and has been with for many years. We have seen this coming in the last couple of years due to loss in sales. My husband is a diligent worker who treats his job like it is his own business. There are a few employees that report directly to him and he likes all of them. He is very upset that he may be losing any of them because he knows that they depend on their income to support their family. He is also aware if sales don’t improve he may very well lose his job. He is a few years away from retirement and we still have a mortgage to pay as well as life goals we want to accomplish including goals for a business we want to start when he retires. Meanwhile, I have just determined what God wants me to do after having a previous career in corporate America 30+ years.  I am now starting to write this blog to share with others just how good God is. This means that my husband is the bread winner and sole provider at this time.

We both know that God is our provider and that everything good comes from Him. We have seen Him change our lives for the better when there were storms before. We trusted Him and prayed for His help and guidance. He moved on our behalf which was seamless and better than what we could have asked for. There are so many stories of just how good God is that I want to share as I continue writing.

Remember His Past Faithfulness:

Around twenty years ago, I personally went through a massive round of layoffs with a company I worked nine years for when I was single and needed every penny of what I made. I had little savings and no family nearby. The one thing I did have was my faith in God. I was already seeking after God prior to this scary event in my life and was learning about Him through reading the Bible and listening to men of great faith. Dr. Evans taught me to remember God’s faithfulness in the past just as the shepherd David said to King Saul when he encountered Goliath.

And David said to Saul, “May no one’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” But Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The LORD who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”                                 1 Samuel 17:32-37

God is pleased with our outrageous faith in Him! These teachings and truths are what got me through.

Within six months, I was rehired by the same company, but only part-time, which was okay with me as I had started working to build my own business as a wardrobe consultant.

As for now, my husband and I will go through this impending storm in our lives trusting God. This doesn’t mean that we are not concerned, it just means that we have another opportunity to grow our faith in God. It means that we will endeavor to learn from this experience and put it to good use. As a friend of mine used to say when a tough situation would occur, “I can’t wait to see what God is going to do.”

Going through a storm may not be easy, but God is always faithful! We increase our faith by walking with God through hardships so we can be a blessing to others who go through similar situations.

Heavenly Father, I pray for everyone out there today that is going through a storm in their life. Give them the encouragement that they need to follow You and to not fear. Help them to feel Your presence and to follow You in faith so that they too can see Your divine power at work. In Jesus’s mighty name. 

Below are some resources to help you through your walk of faith with God. I have listened to both Dr. Charles Stanley and Dr. Tony Evans for many years and they have always been on point in their teachings from the Bible. I consider them both godly men who have walked the life of faith with God. Even though Dr. Stanley passed into eternity last year and is now resting in God’s glory and peace, his teachings are still available. I have included links below to the messages that have helped me in the past to overcome my fear while walking with God through my life’s storms.

Dr. Charles Stanley – Levels of Faith in the Life of a Believer  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLuK_tSOxBk

Dr. Tony Evans – The Heroes of Faith https://www.ocbfchurch.org/downloads/heroes-full-series/

As always, I have a song to share with you that has been a great comfort and encouragement to me.

“Walk by Faith” – Jeremy Camp