Living a Blessed Life - Updated

 

“For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light.”  (Psalm 49:18-19)

 

What does it look like to live a blessed life? 

 

In these verses, the person counted themselves as blessed.  They were enjoying life, their riches and their popularity.  They were not miserable.  Yet, when they finished their life, that was the end.  They perished without hope of eternal life.  Devastating.  They had a small amount of time in a comfortable and popular life, only to miss eternity.    

 

Corey Ten Boom lived a blessed life but you would not have known it by the way that she lived.  She lived in circumstances that were unimaginable and miserable.  Yet, in this, she found the source of life and was deeply blessed—not depressed.  She grew in strength, wisdom and joy in the midst of her suffering. 

 

She later wrote, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength. Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation. Happiness isn’t something that depends on our surroundings... It’s something we make inside ourselves.”

 

So much rich wisdom in those words.  Her circumstances were terrible; and for years, I have struggled with the Holy Spirit telling me she lived a blessed life.  I just couldn’t agree.   I could not imagine sleeping with rats and bed bugs that bit you all night only to get up and stand for hours for the morning call, freezing, with no end in sight. It had to be absolutely miserable.   But she not only survived it, she thrived in it.

 

Paul tells us to rejoice when we suffer and James tells us that our trials and suffering produce perseverance and endurance so to consider it pure joy.  Mother Teresa would go to the worst places where maggots were crawling out from someone’s skin to care for them while they were terminal and passing away.  Not only this, but she purposely slept on a hard bed that was uncomfortable when she stayed places.  This was her way of reminding herself that this was not her home. 

 

Ecclesiastes is this book near the center of the bible that is all about searching and seeking what has meaning in life. The author is searching for what really matters.  “The Preacher,” who is writing the book, seeks pleasure, wisdom, power, and riches, among other things, only to find that it is all vanity and striving after the wind that cannot be caught. 

 

Here is the end result of seeking to fill their heart with self-indulgence from enjoyment, riches, popularity and power: “So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and striving after wind.”  (Ecclesiastes 2:17)

 

Ever just think to yourself, if only this circumstance would be different—if this person would treat me better, if I got that promotion, or if someone recognized my work—I would be happy and feel blessed?   Well, these are the exact circumstances that, in the verse we started with, led someone to hell.  And being filled with this only made The Preacher writing Ecclesiastes, feel depressed and empty.

 

Here is the point: When we try to suck life out of this life, it leaves us empty and unfulfilled.   Life, while given to us to enjoy, is only rich, meaningful and satisfying as it puts us on the path to finding God in it and growing in our relationship with Him.   With every direction we can take, there is only one of true satisfaction and it is found in seeking depth in our relationship with Christ.

 

Perhaps, at the end of the day, that sin corrupts the whole world and everything in it does us a favor.   The Preacher proclaims, “Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt!”  Finding that there is no answer found that brings full satisfaction without sin or corruption helps redirect our hearts back to what is incorruptible—Jesus Christ. 

 

Jesus comes with these Kingdom principles of how to be truly blessed.  He turns the world's ways upside down and shakes them out, proclaiming those who are last, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst, those who know weakness as a way of life, these are the ones who are blessed, filled, and comforted.

 

What He is saying is those who empty themselves of the world and all it’s pomp and glory and hunger for something that is deeper, will find it.  Our joy and satisfaction can only be found in Jesus Christ.   And when we are full of the world, we have no room to be filled with Him.

 

This blessed condition is not just a pat on the back.  According to the Amplified bible, it is “Happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous— with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions.”

 

Can I tell you something personal?  While I do not wish being blind on anyone, when my husband began to lose his sight and it resulted in him losing his job and ability to drive, his life changed in some good ways that it would not have otherwise.  He was so focused on his career and success before he lost his sight that it made him miserable.  He was just never “there” with where he wanted to be.  When things changed for him, he found a place of satisfaction in living life, being a great dad and a great husband that he never would have had otherwise. 

 

One author notes about the Beatitudes, “Jesus says here that what matters most in life is not what we have or what we do, but who we are.”  [1]

 

There is such richness in this. At the end of the day, the most important things are not things, not even people, but who we have become.  A great example of this is Sister Wendy Beckett.  She is mentioned by this author[2] and is known for this incredible overflowing joy.  Her joy overflows from encounters with God.   I have one of her books and keep it close as a reminder of this place where joy is found. And where this joy is found, it overflows. 

 

There is a river whose streams delight and bring abounding joy to the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High (Psalm 46:4). This river flows down from the throne of God as we encounter Him.  It is the river of life, clear as crystal, that causes all to flourish and bear fruit and healing for the nations through it.   We need only enter the flow. 

 

The answer to Ecclesiastes is that on the other side of all his questions, seeking and wonderings is that all things point back to God.  So the questions we want to ask ourselves in life in forging our plans and even a “Rule of Life” is possibly:

 

1.    How do we move deeper in our relationship with the Lord?  What is one thing, that if I do it consistently will draw me closer to the Lord?

2.    How do we position ourselves for encounter and to see His goodness?

3.    Where are our lives already filled with this joy and overflow?

4.    Where can we let His joy flowing through us overflow into the world to bring fruitfulness, life and healing?

5.    Where does our life most lack this joy and overflow and what do we need to let go of there?

 

Someone that I know that had this contagious love and joy was a dear friend.  She just went home to be with the Lord.  It left a hole in my heart to have to say goodbye.  I miss her terribly.   But she lived an amazing blessed life.  She was the epidemy of living a blessed life.  There is no greater example.  She led everyone to the Lord within a five mile radius of her. She is now in joy unspeakable and full of glory.  And her life is still speaking.  She was a seed that was planted in the hearts of many.  Her funeral was packed and even more will come to know the Lord because of her influence through the faith she demonstrated even as she went home. She passed a torch of fire for evangelism to all those she left behind. 

I had a dream about August 8th, the day she passed, so I went back to the blog post I wrote about it. It was about a seed of revival.  Ironic that I had mentioned this date to my friend (who has now passed) at the time and she gave me this verse: 

Luke 8:8, “Still other seed fell on good soil.  It came up and yielded a crop a hundred times more than was sown.  When He said this, He called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

That just strikes my heart as she was this seed.  I know if she could choose to be a sacrificial seed that would spread the gospel and salvations even further from her death as from her life, she would have said yes.  It was just the kind of person she was.

A word that a mentor of hers had for her the day she passed on August 8th: 

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.."

 

Lord, it is only in You that we find joy.  Help us order our lives around what truly has meaning and value.  Let Your river of life flow to us and through us today.

 

 

1-2.  Gumble, Nicky.  The Jesus Lifestyle:  Practical Guidelines for Living Out Jesus’ Teachings. Hodder & Stroughton, UK. 2010.