The Appropriate View of Blessings

            Because we have so much in terms of material blessings, it is very easy for us to take these Godsends for granted. We assume that, not only will we continue to retain them, these boons will multiply over time, providing us with a virtual “heaven on earth”, if you will. Then, as surely as the sun rises tomorrow, when the events of our lives turn downward, so do our countenances as we bemoan our circumstances and the loss of our advantages. We may even question God as to why He would be so mean as to remove these boons from us as if He were targeting us for some gratuitous reason. With such responses to blessing, we betray how little we understand the relationship between God, blessings, and how we should rightly respond to each.

                  First of all, in no way do we deserve or are we guaranteed anything good in this world. We believe that we are good people because we compare ourselves with other people that we know who are in some way “bad” and, then, that makes us appear “good” in our eyes. On that basis, we then feel that we deserve the good things of this world, the blessings that rightfully fall to those who do good, who work hard, who play by the rules, etc. Yet, we forget that blessings, all blessings, come from Almighty God who judges our actions and attitudes, not by how they stand against those of other human beings, but by His holy standards. In that light alone, none of us “pass muster”. We all fail and do so miserably. As both the Psalmist and the Apostle Paul state, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (rf. Rom. 3:10–12; Ps. 14:1). According to His standards, none of us deserve to be blessed; we, rather, deserve to be judged and deserve a harsh judgment at that!

            Yet, in His mercy, He has chosen to extend to us grace through His Son, Jesus Christ (rf. Eph. 2:8-9). By virtue of the salvation we have in Christ, God opens up the gates of heaven and pours forth an abundance of blessing upon His people as a token of His unmerited favor to them. So great is the love of God in Christ that, in order for unbelievers to likewise experience a measure of this same grace, He extends some of it beyond the bounds of His people to all of the human race that they may know of the greatness of God (rf. Matt. 5:45). Therefore, if we have experienced blessing from God, it is not because we have deserved it. Quite the contrary. It is that God in His grace has given it to us. We did not earn it nor was it guaranteed to us. It was purely a gift to be appreciated as such.

            Finally, in the day when the blessings cease and the hardships begin, what then should we do? Should we be angry with God at the withdrawal? Should we view the blessings as our entitlements, belonging to us forever? “No” and “No” are the answers. We should take our cues from the response of Job to the withdrawal of blessing. After having been given much and then losing more, for no applicable reason to him personally other than his devotion to God, this was the Scripture’s account of Job’s reaction to his tremendous loss:

“He said,

‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

And naked I shall return there.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.’

Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” (rf. Job 1:21–22)

            So, as we take into account the blessings that we have been given by Almighty God, we should possess hearts full of gratitude. We should realize that they are ours, not by our efforts, but by His grace. We should enjoy the blessings while we have them, never taking them for granted, understanding that they are of a transient nature as are we. When the time comes for the Godsends to depart and the hard times to descend upon us, our hearts will be full of thankfulness for the grace God had previously given while trusting in Him to keep us until His face should shine upon us once again. This is the proper and right perspective toward the blessings of God.