Intangible Blessings
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3)
There is a well-known hymn of the church written by Johnson Oatman Jr. in 1897. The opening stanza goes, “When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise what the Lord has done.” The chorus then goes, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings, see what God has done, count your blessings, name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” It’s a wonderful hymn about remembering to number the ways in which God has been there for us, rather than allowing the weight of our worries to overwhelm us.
Many people may struggle with the idea of taking inventory of their blessings because they tend to view blessings through the prism of the world. The world tends to equate blessings with physical things, material items that can be measured, touched by the hands, and seen by the eyes. But the best blessings are not always based upon material, tangible realities we can see. The best blessings are spiritual; intangible things we cannot see. You can live in a big house and drive a nice car and be nervous because you can’t afford to pay the note. You can have a big bed and be unable to sleep at night.
While blessings can include the material, they are much bigger than that. You are blessed when you are no longer possessed by your possessions. You are blessed when the things you have don’t have you.
The foundational and fundamental truth of our faith is that in Christ we have been made free; free from the grip of sin, free from fear, free from anger, confusion, addiction, and self-destructive habits. In a real sense this is what I think Paul is referencing back in our key verse when he says that in Christ we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing because when you are no longer shackled by sin, gripped by anger, in bondage to addiction, and liberated from self-destructive habits you are blessed. It’s why Jesus himself said, He whom the Son has set free is free indeed.
What will it take for you to live in that freedom, always being thankful for your many blessings, even if most of them are intangible? If nothing else, I hope that today you will take the time to thank God for how He has blessed you, and ask Him to continually make you aware of His intangible blessings so that they don’t go unnoticed.
There is a well-known hymn of the church written by Johnson Oatman Jr. in 1897. The opening stanza goes, “When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise what the Lord has done.” The chorus then goes, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings, see what God has done, count your blessings, name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” It’s a wonderful hymn about remembering to number the ways in which God has been there for us, rather than allowing the weight of our worries to overwhelm us.
Many people may struggle with the idea of taking inventory of their blessings because they tend to view blessings through the prism of the world. The world tends to equate blessings with physical things, material items that can be measured, touched by the hands, and seen by the eyes. But the best blessings are not always based upon material, tangible realities we can see. The best blessings are spiritual; intangible things we cannot see. You can live in a big house and drive a nice car and be nervous because you can’t afford to pay the note. You can have a big bed and be unable to sleep at night.
While blessings can include the material, they are much bigger than that. You are blessed when you are no longer possessed by your possessions. You are blessed when the things you have don’t have you.
The foundational and fundamental truth of our faith is that in Christ we have been made free; free from the grip of sin, free from fear, free from anger, confusion, addiction, and self-destructive habits. In a real sense this is what I think Paul is referencing back in our key verse when he says that in Christ we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing because when you are no longer shackled by sin, gripped by anger, in bondage to addiction, and liberated from self-destructive habits you are blessed. It’s why Jesus himself said, He whom the Son has set free is free indeed.
What will it take for you to live in that freedom, always being thankful for your many blessings, even if most of them are intangible? If nothing else, I hope that today you will take the time to thank God for how He has blessed you, and ask Him to continually make you aware of His intangible blessings so that they don’t go unnoticed.
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