The word, “blessed,” has become a “go to” word among the Christian community. People’s prayers are filled with acknowledging how blessed God has been, including our health, the friends we have, and the country we live in. The word has run the gambit, from the blessings received for the building we assemble in to the slogan, “Too blessed to be stressed.” Certainly, this word has probably been overused over the last decade or so, and the connotation has been given a “health & wealth” slant.
The word, “blessed” has a rich heritage, and a form of it appears about 65 times in our Bibles. While the Hebrew and Greek word for “blessed” can be translated “happy,” contextually, the kind of happiness the Bible speaks about is not something external but internal. Being blessed carries with it the grace of God’s approval, so that the person blessed by God is the person who has God’s esteem. That approval does not always translate into physical or material prosperity.
As already noted, the word “blessed” appears frequently in Scripture. However, the formula found in the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:3-11) is a twist on a common formula in Scripture as well. In order to reorient our lives to a life truly “blessed” by God, we need a clearer understanding of God’s perspective.
● The Psalms > When the book of Psalms opens up, it boldly begins its journey with the blessing formula, “Blessed is the man” (Ps. 1:1 [this formula occurs fifteen times in Psalms]). Most scholars will tell you that the placement of this Psalm at the beginning of the Psalmist collection is intentional, and sets a tone for the rest of the Psalms. The Psalm contrasts two different people, the one blessed because he/she walks in righteousness versus the wicked one who has no place in the assembly. While the Psalmist does not tell us what the wicked has done, one can assume he/she is contrasted with the righteous who spend their time meditating on the law and allowing God’s word to sink in.
● The Gospels > Both Matthew and Luke contain what we call, The Beatitudes, though each do so very differently. Matthew (5:3-12) focuses on the inner spirit and character development of the follower of Christ. One might paraphrase Matthew’s “beatitudes” as “blessed are the broken,” for only the ones who see themselves as broken before God are the ones God can truly fix. On the other hand, Luke (6:20-26) seems to focus his attention on material possessions. The poor, as opposed to poor in spirt, are the ones blessed. Those who hunger now, for physical food, will be satisfied. Luke also records Jesus’ scathing rebuke to the wealthy because, in contrast to the poor, they’re enjoying the good life now (and probably at the expense of the poor).
● Revelation > The “Blessed” formula appears seven times in John’s apocalypse. Like the Psalms, the first one opens the letter and sets a similar tone to Psalm 1. The one who is blessed “takes to heart what is written in (his revelation” [Rev. 1:3]). John is concerned about his audience buying into what he’s offering, “because the time is near,” though he doesn’t explain right there what he means by “time is near.” Of course the rest of Revelation fleshes out his message of to the churches in Asia Minor they are to “take to heart.”
While this is a sampling of the way Scripture uses “blessed,” and not a complete study, it does point us in the direction we should go when we drop the phrase, “I am blessed.” It has less to do with the physical things many of us already experience simply by living in a country of wealth and prosperity. It has more to do with the spiritual perspective of emptying ourselves and depending solely on God for his grace.
Soli Deo Gloria!
(only God is glorified!)