Psalm 128: A Blessed Life

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.
You will eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house,
Your sons like olive shoots around your table.
Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life;
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
And may you live to see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel.
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Blessings come with following God.

Those of us who rightly reject the "prosperity gospel"  movement often shrink back from the fullness of the Biblical concept of blessing. We spiritualize it and relegate blessing to the eternal realm. In so doing, we limit our understanding of God's work on our lives here and now.

It's imperative that we have a sound theology of suffering. Scripture makes it clear that suffering is part of the Christian experience; Watchman Nee called it "The Normal Christian Life". However, it's just as important that we recognize that God, in His wisdom, balances the suffering He allows with blessings beyond measure.

I think it's hard for us to get our minds wrapped around all Paul meant when he wrote that God is "for us". Let that sink in. God is "for us". He wants our best. Scripture tells us that His commands were not meant to enslave, but to free. Simply put, doing things God's way makes sense. It makes sense because He's God, but it also makes sense because it works! When we fear God and walk in His ways, our lives are filled wholeness - with shalom.

That shalom is manifest in many ways. Peaceful marriages instead of turmoil and slammed doors. Wonderful relationships with adult children instead of bitterness and emotional distance. Solid, long-lasting friendships that go deep. Living long enough to see true revival after praying for it for years. And yes, based on this passage, grandchildren.

"Count your blessings, name them one by one", goes the old song. What blessings have you failed to even recognize lately, much less count? Life is hard, but God is faithful. Where has His faithfulness been evident in your life? That is a blessing.

Here's the beautiful thing about blessings: God doesn't want us to keep them to ourselves. We are "blessed to be a blessing". Every blessing we have can be turned into a way we can bless someone else. Have a wonderful home? Open it up to your small group. Have more produce or meat than you know what to do with? Share it with someone who has a need. Have you been blessed with an extra car? See if a missionary needs to borrow it while on furlough. The list goes on and on. I would like to challenge you to take the list of blessings you thought of in the previous paragraph and go one step farther. Ask God how He wants you to use each one to bless someone else.

God blessed Israel and she was supposed to be a blessing to the nations around her. The idea was that the nations would be drawn to God through Israel. Not because God made Israel rich but because their lives were so enriched by the blessings of God. God's plan hasn't changed. Today, He still wants the nations to come to know Him. He still blesses us and asks us to pass it along. As the previous Psalm proclaimed, the nations will say "The Lord has done great things for them."

As I've memorized this Psalm a song kept ringing through my ears. A song from a Christmas album, it is essentially a prayer for blessing based on different Scriptures. It's a wonderful example of how to pray Scripture, but it also beautifully demonstrates how the spiritual and temporal blessings can be beautifully interwoven in our lives to bring us to a place of blessing and wholeness. May God use this to encourage you and help you truly embrace His desire to bless you ... so that you can be a blessing to many.