Blessed are those...
From the point of view of the world, we say blessed are those who have the cutest clothes, the prettiest face, newest phone, nicest car and the most money. We determine how blessed someone is, by the way, they look and things they own. Which is not completely accurate, sometimes the people with the best of everything are the ones who feel the most empty inside. It's amazing what people can hide behind nice things and a pretty smile.
This was me yesterday afternoon, fresh snowfall and snow lightly falling means really great lighting for new pictures. So that's what I did. Took my tripod, set my camera up and took some pictures. I would have said in those moments that I felt blessed.
Only a few short hours later, this is me lying in a hospital bed, and would not have said I felt very blessed. When I need to go to the hospital to get pain medication and scans done, it makes me very anxious knowing I have to lay there and wait for it to be done and that I can't move much with an IV in. I just do not relax very well and constantly want to leave. Even writing this right now and thinking about it has been giving me little bits of anxiety. Today, as I rested in my own bed (HALLELUJAH) I was listening to an audio bible to give my head a rest and I started it in Matthew and came upon the beatitudes which made me really start thinking harder than I had thought I ever could today.
The Beatitudes read:
"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 are hungry 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." Matthew 5: 3-12
Not once in any of those verses did it mention anything about the possessions that we own or how nice we look. Not even once. In the busyness of life, between the breakfast table and the pillow, we have forgotten what it actually means to be blessed. We are inclined to spend our days striving for the sparkly, worldly blessings. The world has an upside down way of looking at life, and sometimes we have to squint, turn our heads, and change our perspective to see the world for what it is.
The Beatitudes shift our focus from the values of the world to giving us a glimpse of Christ setting things right for us again. These eight Beatitudes are not a call for us to try harder; they are a look at the natural consequences of a life lived through Christ.
Starting with "Blessed are the poor in spirit"
- Ephesians 2:1-10
- Revelations 3:17-22.
"Blessed are those who mourn"
- Isaiah 61:1-3
- Romans 7:21-25
- 2 Corinthians 7:8-10
"Blessed are the Meek"
- Luke 12:13-21
- Psalm 37:1-11
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness"
- Matthew 7:7-11
- Romans 9:3-33
- Romans 10:1-4
- Psalm 17:15
"Blessed are the merciful"
- James 2:15-20
- Matthew 18:21-35
"Blessed are the pure in heart"
- Ezekiel 36:22-28
- Psalm 24
- Revelation 22:1-5
"Blessed are the peacemakers"
- Matthew 10:26-31
- Ephesians 2:11-22
- John 14: 27-31
- Psalm 34
"Blessed are those who are persecuted"
- Philippians 1:27-30
- 2 Timothy 3:10-17
- 1 Peter 1:6-7
"On earth, as it is in Heaven"
- Matthew 5:13-16
- Colossians 4:5-6
- Isaiah 42:5-9
Throughout all of these examples, it only says how BLESSED it is to be in these unfavorable situations. We should be blessed to be used by God in such a way that His glory is so evidently revealed. Yes, we thank God when we have money and can buy a car or a new phone, but not often do we say (me anyway) how thankful and blessed we are when we are sick or when mourning a loss.
When I was lying in the hospital bed last night, crying and in pain, wanting to go home, and wondering why I couldn't be normal and why this kept happening, it didn't even come to my mind that I was blessed. As I thought about it today, I still wouldn't give my health and this situation to my worst enemy, but it is another thing that God brought me through and is something very hard and painful at the moment that God's might and power and love can be shown through them. I find myself blessed to think that God wants to use me in this way to show Himself through this struggle.
Without struggles, we wouldn't know what happiness and joy would be. The same is true with God, if things didn't trouble us, we wouldn't feel as though we needed to wholeheartedly rely on Him and have unwavering trust in Him. People won't see how good He is and loving of a God He is if we don't have anything to show that He has been good and He has brought us through really tough situations.
Look at your life and see how GOD is blessing you, and compare it to how the WORLD is blessing you. What is going to matter in Heaven? What is going to show God in your life more? How are those blessing changing your life to be a light for GOD?
Links to good/helpful reminders and resources:
https://www.shopshereadstruth.com/collections/the-beatitudes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xRNrnh__SE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpjTMIeZ3EI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z3pjXmNq2g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoezWBPGRAc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOBIPb-6PTc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGAZVASoUv4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxTc98K9OeU
Only a few short hours later, this is me lying in a hospital bed, and would not have said I felt very blessed. When I need to go to the hospital to get pain medication and scans done, it makes me very anxious knowing I have to lay there and wait for it to be done and that I can't move much with an IV in. I just do not relax very well and constantly want to leave. Even writing this right now and thinking about it has been giving me little bits of anxiety. Today, as I rested in my own bed (HALLELUJAH) I was listening to an audio bible to give my head a rest and I started it in Matthew and came upon the beatitudes which made me really start thinking harder than I had thought I ever could today. The Beatitudes read:
"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 are hungry 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." Matthew 5: 3-12
Not once in any of those verses did it mention anything about the possessions that we own or how nice we look. Not even once. In the busyness of life, between the breakfast table and the pillow, we have forgotten what it actually means to be blessed. We are inclined to spend our days striving for the sparkly, worldly blessings. The world has an upside down way of looking at life, and sometimes we have to squint, turn our heads, and change our perspective to see the world for what it is.
The Beatitudes shift our focus from the values of the world to giving us a glimpse of Christ setting things right for us again. These eight Beatitudes are not a call for us to try harder; they are a look at the natural consequences of a life lived through Christ.
Starting with "Blessed are the poor in spirit"
- Ephesians 2:1-10
- Revelations 3:17-22.
"Blessed are those who mourn"
- Isaiah 61:1-3
- Romans 7:21-25
- 2 Corinthians 7:8-10
"Blessed are the Meek"
- Luke 12:13-21
- Psalm 37:1-11
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness"
- Matthew 7:7-11
- Romans 9:3-33
- Romans 10:1-4
- Psalm 17:15
"Blessed are the merciful"
- James 2:15-20
- Matthew 18:21-35
"Blessed are the pure in heart"
- Ezekiel 36:22-28
- Psalm 24
- Revelation 22:1-5
"Blessed are the peacemakers"
- Matthew 10:26-31
- Ephesians 2:11-22
- John 14: 27-31
- Psalm 34
"Blessed are those who are persecuted"
- Philippians 1:27-30
- 2 Timothy 3:10-17
- 1 Peter 1:6-7
"On earth, as it is in Heaven"
- Matthew 5:13-16
- Colossians 4:5-6
- Isaiah 42:5-9
Throughout all of these examples, it only says how BLESSED it is to be in these unfavorable situations. We should be blessed to be used by God in such a way that His glory is so evidently revealed. Yes, we thank God when we have money and can buy a car or a new phone, but not often do we say (me anyway) how thankful and blessed we are when we are sick or when mourning a loss.
When I was lying in the hospital bed last night, crying and in pain, wanting to go home, and wondering why I couldn't be normal and why this kept happening, it didn't even come to my mind that I was blessed. As I thought about it today, I still wouldn't give my health and this situation to my worst enemy, but it is another thing that God brought me through and is something very hard and painful at the moment that God's might and power and love can be shown through them. I find myself blessed to think that God wants to use me in this way to show Himself through this struggle.
Without struggles, we wouldn't know what happiness and joy would be. The same is true with God, if things didn't trouble us, we wouldn't feel as though we needed to wholeheartedly rely on Him and have unwavering trust in Him. People won't see how good He is and loving of a God He is if we don't have anything to show that He has been good and He has brought us through really tough situations.
Look at your life and see how GOD is blessing you, and compare it to how the WORLD is blessing you. What is going to matter in Heaven? What is going to show God in your life more? How are those blessing changing your life to be a light for GOD?
Links to good/helpful reminders and resources:
https://www.shopshereadstruth.com/collections/the-beatitudes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xRNrnh__SE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpjTMIeZ3EI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z3pjXmNq2g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoezWBPGRAc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOBIPb-6PTc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGAZVASoUv4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxTc98K9OeU
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