Lesson 20 – Blessed in Belief

Luke 1:45 (NIV)
"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

Seems to me that this promise applies equally to everyone who professes a faith in Jesus Christ. God's blessings are upon those who believe. In these, we experience a right relationship with the Lord, know peace that is without any other basis, and truly experience joy no matter how things turn out.

While Mary was blessed of God in being chosen to be the mother of Jesus, the path to this blessing was belief. In fact, I suspect God would have chosen another if Mary had hardened her heart and refused to believe that God's way would involve a pregnancy outside of marriage. But that was God's way then, and even today, it is still God's way. Our Lord reveals his will to his people and allows us to make a choice to believe.

While I wouldn't advocate belief simply to receive God's blessings, even believers need to be reminded that we don't experience some blessings simply because we're not living each day in belief. And while our God seeks trust, most of us have trust issues. By definition, this means we're not in control, and quite frankly, that doesn't sit well with some of us, myself included.

So what to do? How do we live a life of faith?

Let's start by committing to allowing God to be God, reminding ourselves daily he is in control and that we've surrendered willingly to his will. I'm not talking about beating ourselves down, for God created us with a great capacity to think and function in life, but to trust God knows what he is doing, even when I'm not so sure about where my life is heading.

For me, this means taking time each day to resurrender myself to whatever the Lord determines to bring my way. If God wills it, I am for it. If God wills it, I rejoice in it. If God wills it, I won't run from it. This is a tall order, but one needed from every believer if we are to receive God's blessings.