Matthew 5: 1-2 (MSG) When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.
He went up the mountain. His disciples went with him. The committed climbed with him. There’s just a sense in this passage that not everybody climbed.
2. You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope
Matthew 5:3 (MSG) “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”
Self-help and self-empowerment only go so far. God wants us to recognise our need for Him, so His power and strength can be displayed in our lives.
If you’re just hanging on, Jesus said you’re blessed. You’re blessed because it’s a problem that drives us to him. If you’re at the end of your rope and aren’t including Jesus, you don’t have a blessed life. You have a life that’s about to fall. You have to understand that Jesus has to be in the middle of everything you do, so blessing number one is that you admit your need for God.
3. Through Your Losses, Allow God to Love You
Matthew 5:4 (MSG) “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
Who would say you’re blessed when you’re at the end of the Rope? Who would say you’re blessed when you’ve lost someone most dear to you?
Only Jesus, because Jesus, when he comes into the picture no matter what the picture looks like, is a blessing in your life every time you open enough room for Him to come in and minister to you.
Let’s look at the story of the prodigal son. He decided to leave home and ask his father for his inheritance.
After a while, he wasted everything and sat with the pigs and ate with them. He thought, let me return to my father and become a servant. He goes home, and instead of getting what he was expecting, he gets what he wasn’t expecting. He wasn’t expecting that his father would be looking for him.
He thought, let me return to my father and become a servant.His expectations were low because he was without his father.
When you live without Jesus, you live a low life. Everything you see and expect is without Jesus. If you know how much the father loves you, you will not be in a pig pen. The reason why we don’t have a blessed life is that Jesus is not in the picture.
It does not matter where you are; when Jesus is in the picture, life will be blessed. He was not expecting his father to runout, embraced him, and kissed him. He was not expecting a clean set of clothes and to be dressed. He was not expecting a ring and new sandals. He did not expect a feast. He did not expect to have a wonderful time!
He was not expected to be called son. That is what God want to do for you. The moment you put the father in the picture, your life becomes blessed.
Galatians 4:6-7 (MSG) You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.
Ephesians 1:3-6 (MSG) “How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.”
To be blessed by God is to have God bring about good things in your life. When you are blessed by God, you walk in God’s favour. Blessings are the result of God’s mercy. He blesses you, not because you deserve it, but because He loves you.
When you feel like you’ve been knocked down, allow God’s perfect love to lift you. Your faith will strengthen as you allow God to hold you through every challenge.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (MSG) “All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.”
Psalm 34:18 (MSG) “If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.
The Hebrew word in this verse for brokenhearted is Shabar, meaning “to break” but also means to “bring to birth” which is amazing to think!
When we are so hurt and broken, God is there to bring something new out of our tragedy.
Even when we feel that nothing more than loss could come from it, God allows us to be transformed by our tragedies.
To know that the Lord is close, He is allowing this transformation to bring everlasting love to you.