“And I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. … and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” — Genesis 12:2–3

From the very beginning of Abraham entering into the blessing of God, he was told that this blessing was not to stop with him. God blessed Abraham that he might become a conduit of God’s blessing to all people.

The Word of God clearly tells us that, as born-again believers, we are now children of Abraham. “… those who have faith are children of Abraham. … If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:7–29). Not only are we inheritors of God’s promise, we have also inherited His expectation to be a blessing to others. Like Abraham, God has blessed us so that we might become His instruments for the blessing of others.

Are You Blessed?
Before we can bless others, we have to be living a blessed life ourselves. After all, we can’t give away what we don’t possess. So, how can we tap into God’s blessings for us? What do we need to do to get Him to bless us?

Romans 4:13 tells us how Abraham received the blessing of God.  “It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.” Abraham received the promised blessing not because of anything he did; it was simply by faith.

It is the same for you and I as the “children of Abraham.” Your faith in God releases His blessing in your life. In fact, when you put your faith in Jesus Christ to be your personal Savior, you already entered into the blessing God promised Abraham. With salvation comes the acceptance of God, the approval of God, and the blessings of God. Ephesians 1:3 tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” This verse is in the past tense — we are already blessed!

Why Don’t I Feel Blessed?
During my years pastoring, I came across many believers who didn’t believe that they were blessed because they didn’t feel blessed. This reminds me of some people who repent of their sins and receive the Lord as their Savior. Later, they would say to me, “I don’t feel saved.” But the Scriptures say that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). This verse doesn’t say you will feel saved; it says you will be saved.

As believers, we aren’t supposed to go by our feelings. The Christian walk is a walk of faith … not feelings. As Oswald Chambers used to say, “Right choices produce right feelings.” Since the Bible declares that God “has blessed us,” if we will simply accept God at His Word and believe we are blessed, we will begin to see all the various blessings He provides us and, eventually, feel that we are blessed.

There are other believers who don’t think God has blessed them because they haven’t received as much as they expected. Many Christians in America are suffering from “comparison Christianity.” Instead of seeing the favor, provision, and protection God has given them, they look longingly at how someone else has been blessed and want to be blessed in the same way.

But that is not how God works. He gives to one more financial blessing, to another greater wisdom, He blesses some with unshakable peace, and to another gives a large measure of favor. Father God blesses us as He chooses, not as we would choose … and Father knows best!

God does great and marvelous things in all of our lives. Seeing how good the Lord is to us will cause us to want to take the blessings He’s giving us and give extravagantly to others, not live extravagantly for ourselves. If we truly comprehended how blessed we are as believers in Christ, we couldn’t help but bless others. It wouldn’t be hard; it would flow naturally.

Become a “Giver”
Are you a giver? Or are you best described as a taker? In tough economic times, our natural tendency is to be selfish with our resources. We sometimes excuse ourselves by saying we can’t afford to give. It’s easy to become focused on our needs or our families needs, and forget about those whose suffering is greater than our own.

Some excuse themselves by saying they don’t have much. But everyone has something. There is always something we can do or give, even if we have little. Jesus often spoke about the importance of giving, even to His fellow countrymen who had been made poor by Roman oppression.

Jesus stressed that caring for the needs of others was more important than storing wealth for our own use (see Luke 12:15–21). As believers, we should not hoard what the Lord has given to us, but be generous and willing to share. The Bible tells us that it is God, “… who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).  Yet it immediately instructs us to use these blessings, “… to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:18).

God has promised to “… bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). “Every good work” means we will never be unable to give to any good cause! God blesses us so that we might bless others. We are blessed to be a blessing, and the happiest people I have met give generously of themselves and their possessions to others. Cheerful givers can be assured of supernatural joy on earth and eternal rewards in heaven.

More Than Money
Blessing others means far more than just giving money. It means caring about and serving others. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He set the example for us of blessing others through serving. Our Savior came to earth with the purpose of serving mankind. He declared in Luke 22:27, “But I am among you as the one who serves.” Jesus didn’t just declare it … He lived it! Jesus comforted His followers, and gave them peace when they were worried. He raised the dead, and healed the sick. He fed the multitudes. Finally, Jesus sacrificed Himself for the sins of humanity. And those are just a few examples of His heart to serve.

Jesus takes serving others very seriously … and personally. He expects us to become not just servant-leaders, but servant-blessers. In fact, whatever good we do to others, Jesus sees it as if we are doing it for Jesus Himself! “… for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. … Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:25–40).

The Lord has done so much for each of us. He has blessed us far more than we even realize. Doesn’t that make you want to pour out your love on Him in thanksgiving? Think of the woman who poured out the expensive perfume on Jesus to bless Him … or the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. When we begin to grasp how richly and deeply the Lord has blessed us, we will long to bless Him … and we can by serving others. Every kind deed you do for someone He sees as you doing it for Him. As you spend your time, finances, and energies to care for others, the Lord receives it as if you were ministering to Him! When we bless others, we are also blessing God!

Pass It On
The Lord has been generous with us, and we should be willing to reach out to those around us. Like Abraham, God’s blessing is upon us; and also like Abraham, He expects us to be a blessing to everyone around us. So:

• Who do you know who could use a blessing this week? How can you intentionally show God’s love toward that person?

• Think of a time this week when you’ve been the recipient of a blessing. How can you pass that blessing on to someone else?

• In what ways could you serve, comfort, or encourage someone this week?

If we continue to live this way, blessed of God and seeking to bless others in all we say and do, we can expect that, sooner or later, someone is going to want an explanation for the life we’re living. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 that we must always be ready to give an “answer” or a “reason” for the hope that is within us. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

So what is the “reason” we’re able to consistently touch others with the blessing of the Lord? It is only because we ourselves have been “blessed” by God. We have been brought into His favor through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Far above any other blessing we could ever receive is the blessing of restored relationship with God. We who were once far off have now become the sons and daugthters of God — ones He calls friends! In this, we are truly blessed, and this blessing should well up in us and overflow from us like rivers of living water … touching the lives of others.

So we must be ready to explain to others that the reason it seems to them that the “Way” we live is different from what they see in most people is because of Jesus. We now stand blessed of God in Jesus Christ, having become children of the Most High God, and we proclaim the Good News of God’s favor, inviting all who know us and all who hear to join us.

I pray you will freely share the blessings God has given you, trusting Him to provide all of your needs. Amen.