Here's a typical scene. Someone sneezes. The rest of the group may feel a variety of feelings from, "I hope I don't catch a cold," to "that sneeze is annoying," to "poor thing, I hope they feel alright" to "Man that was loud."
Then someone, or many, may decide to offer a response. For some it is a thoughtful gesture. For others it is simply a canned response. "God bless you."
What about at the end of a political speech? Many typically end with "God bless you and God bless the United States of America."
When we hear this phrase, what does it actually mean to us?
Do we feel any different or does anything change in our lives based on this “blessing,” or is it just a nice phrase to wish someone well.
What does the term, “blessed” mean anyway?
I’ve heard “count your blessings” and people comment that something was “such a blessing,” but what does it mean to be “blessed.”
I did a word study of the term from the Hebrew root “brk” which is “berak” or “berakah” for a seminary paper and I discovered that this word has many meanings and uses depending on the context. One stood out to me that I wanted to share with you today. When someone was declared “blessed” or a “blessing” was spoken over them it was a supernatural empowerment of God working on someone’s behalf.
I want to repeat. When someone is blessed they have supernatural power working on his or her behalf. This is incredible when read in the light of a couple of New Testament Scriptures.
Ephesians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (NIV) Galatians 3:9 says, “So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” And Galatians 3:13-14 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
God blessed Abraham and gave him a supernatural power to work on his behalf. These Scriptures tell us that by faith in Jesus Christ we can be given the same blessing given to Abraham. In fact we can we receive every spiritual blessing in Christ. In other words, as believers in Jesus, we should expect truly that Romans 8:28 is true that “God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” And Romans 8:31 “If God is for us who can be against us.”
This means that in all situations God’s supernatural power is working on our behalf.
It also means that we have been saved from the curse. So what is the curse? The curse is supernatural power working against you.
This should give us great encouragement and confidence in life. If you know Christ, you are blessed. God is working supernaturally on your behalf. He has saved you from the curse, or supernatural power working against you.
If you do not know Christ, you are still operating under the curse. You are against God and God cannot bless you. If you come to Christ and change from going your way and begin to go God’s, you can receive the blessing and God will be working everything for good on your behalf. Sometimes our circumstances do not look good. But just like Abraham, let us believe we are blessed in the midst of those circumstances and give thanks to God that all things are working for good.
So the next time you hear the phrase, “God bless you,” remember that is a statement of wishing God’s supernatural empowerment on their life. It sure makes it a lot richer than just a canned response to a sneeze.
God Bless,
Brian Mackie