#Blessed

In the spirit of hitting our 111 milestone of Dynamis Drops, this month we’re bringing back our “greatest hits” of the past! Enjoy this drop originally published on August 18, 2022.

Oftentimes great things in life unfold in a series of defining moments – those pivotal times when things shift. It can happen when a person decides to quit a job to pursue a dream. Maybe it’s a run-in with a stranger who later becomes a spouse. Or when you least expect it, God might show up in a dark season of life in powerful and unexpected ways. These defining moments can change the trajectory of a person’s life for good. But a defining moment isn’t limited to big moments; sometimes all it takes is hearing the words “God bless you” in the flow of a normal day.

This type of blessing is much more than the social media trend to post with the hashtag #blessed. While sharing pictures of celebratory moments in life are certainly good things, the fullness of a blessing goes much deeper than #blessed. When we speak of blessing, all too often we’re focused on ourselves getting blessed rather than on blessing others. And, because we tend to value created things over our Creator, it is easy to feel most blessed by receiving created things instead of God himself. We become distracted on receiving things from God, and we lose sight of what #blessed actually means.

In the Bible blessings were a big deal. In fact, the Hebrew word for blessing is barakah, which is translated as “a transmittal of God’s favor.” It was more than just receiving gifts; it signified that God bestowed his qualities on someone and affirmed his divine purpose for their life. Being blessed in God’s name meant there was an exchange of all the benefits of God’s name onto a person. Being blessed by God had a very deep and profound impact. This is why Jacob wrestled all night with an angel to receive his blessing; because he knew how significant it was to be granted God’s affirmation on his life.

God still blesses us today, and what’s more is that he says we’re “blessed to be a blessing.” There are many ways we can bless people with our time, gifts or resources, but we should never underestimate the power of a simple spoken blessing, “May God bless you!” These words spoken over us can change the trajectory of our lives. Blessing others may very well be the most generous thing we can do for another because in that simple blessing we are affirming the value of another person’s life. All of the benefits of God’s name are given to another, and his favor is poured into them, equipping them to participate in God’s Kingdom work on earth.

Sadly, many people live not knowing they are blessed by God. They don’t live with purpose or ever see the fullness of who God made them to be. Sometimes all it takes to change their life is someone else who can see that potential and speak God’s favor into their life with the words, “God bless you!” This may be the defining moment someone needs to alter their day, their week, their month. Let’s be generous in blessing others. Let’s affirm God’s favor on more people. In doing so we will experience what it really means to be #blessed!