Blessed

Psalms 1:1

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

How are we feeling today? Are we blessed? A number of times in my life as I have inquired how someone is doing, the reply has been, “I am blessed.” I myself have used that response a few times. Maybe I’ve said it when I really wasn’t feeling blessed. Blessed has the meaning of being supremely happy, contented and fulfilled. The Psalmist says that not walking in the footsteps of sin or sinning ourselves will make us feel blessed. Psalms 1:2 says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” The delight that brings the blessed feeling, is the focus we have on God. A focus that should never change.

If we are blessed because we are not following sin, but focusing on God, we will be like a fruit tree with a never-ending supply of nourishment; a tree that, in its season, will bear delicious fruit. A tree whose green leaves show health and well-being, even if it’s not fruit bearing season; through wind and rain, heat and cold, this tree will prosper. Even storms will not stop this tree from bearing fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23 22

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

I love to see a tree loaded with good, ripe fruit. I am attracted to it. I want to pick it and enjoy the bounty that the tree is producing. In fact, a tree loaded with fruit is very hard to resist. Sit quietly and watch a tree that is loaded with fruit. Birds of all kinds will flock to it; animals will be drawn to it and humans will gather its fruit.

There was a “Tree” that once walked this earth. That “Tree” was blessed, and was totally focused on the Heavenly Father. That “Tree” was plugged into a never-ending source of nourishment. That “Tree” weathered storms and flourished. It bore fruit, and many flocked to its branches to harvest the fruits of joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

That “Tree” eventually left this earth, but left behind many seeds, that have since grown into trees with the ability to produce fruit on their own. Some seeds grow and flourish for a short time and then wither and die before any of their fruit can be harvested. The sun is too hot, the winter too hard, or the storm too great, and the life-giving nourishment not tapped into. Others, sink their roots down deep, and although they may have bent in the storm, they never broke or gave up. They drew deeply on the life-giving river and prospered. They bear fruit in their season and many are drawn to reap the harvest that they so generously give.

We can again ask ourselves these questions. Are we blessed, contented and fulfilled? Are we focusing on our heavenly Father? Are we firmly planted, so that our roots are tapped into the source that gives us the ability to produce fruit?

Maybe we are not sure. Maybe we are believers, but the fruit is not evident. Maybe we don’t feel blessed. Maybe people are not drawn to the fruit we are displaying. What is holding us back from being blessed and producing fruit? Let’s search our hearts and find the thing that is stopping the fruit from growing.

Matthew 7:20-21 20

“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

Jesus left us with a great example and a job. Only if we understand the first, will we fulfill the second.

Trying to be like a tree,

Kevin