.“Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. 8. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
One greeting that I have remembered from my years of prison ministry was “I am greatly blessed and highly favored.” I thought that was a remarkable greeting considering that the men who said that were long-term prisoners. I knew that they were not in a good situation, but they were blessed by the Lord. The Lord turned an unbearable situation into a blessing. I have also met many people in churches who were complaining about one thing or another. (I must confess that I have to watch myself, lest I find myself complaining.) Jeremiah gives a good definition of what it means to be blessed. First, being blessed means to trust in the Lord. For myself, I can imagine what it would be to face each day without knowing that I could trust in the Lord. Trusting God has gotten me through some rough spots in my life. But I am not bragging, because I have met some people who have made me feel that I lacked the trust that I should have. I have met some people who were in much worse shape that I have been at my worst, yet they still managed to praise the Lord, because they trusted the Lord. If you want to be blessed, trust the Lord. I can’t tell you how to trust the Lord. You just have to release your heart and mind to Him and let Him lead in your life. Keep Him ever near you, and heed the promises of His word. Second, being blessed means that one’s hope is in the Lord. A truly blessed life is a life that does not depend on the circumstances of life to make them happy and content. A truly blessed life looks beyond this world to the Lord. The apostle Paul gives us a grand example of this in the book of Philippians. He wrote this letter during his imprisonment in Rome. He wrote of joy and rejoicing in this book in spite of his own circumstances. A good example of this is found in Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.” Instead of complaining about his imprisonment, he reminded us that true blessings are found in the joy of the Lord. Truly ask yourself where the ground of your real hope is. The things of the world are fleeting. We need to ground our hope in eternity, in the almighty, all-knowing, ever present Lord. That is when we are truly blessed and when we feel “greatly blessed and highly favored.” Third, Jeremiah told us of the effect of this blessed life: “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” This reminds us of the righteous person in Psalm 1:3: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in his season…” A blessed life is deeply planted in the power and hope of the Lord. This person’s life continues to be effective, in spite of life’s circumstances. A blessed person is a productive person, whose roots reach deep into the power and presence of Jesus. I want to close this article by telling what an “unblessed” or cursed life is like from the verses preceding our text in verses 5-6: “Thus says the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord. 6. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inherited.” These are your two choices: be blessed or cursed. Seems like a no brainer. Doesn’t it?! Bro. Joe
2 Comments
tommie collins
5/23/2016 11:23:01 pm
God bless u & your family #### please keep spreading God's Word! !!
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Linda Brooks
5/25/2016 07:40:09 pm
Thank you for reminding me to allow GOD to put HIS search-light in my heart, so I will truly Name My Blessings One by. one....GOD Bless you, Mrs. Mary, and your ENTIRE family
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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