How would you like to travel through life? Different people have different ideas about how they would like life to play out for them. Some want oodles of excitement, while others want a quiet and peaceable existence. Some want their life filled with people and parties, while others want to get on with things without having to interact with others.
‘Life in the Fast Lane’ is a term representing a life of excitement and fun living. It’s the kind of life many people aspire to, especially the young who don’t have a lot of responsibilities.
The life God designed for us and desires us to have is ‘Life in the Blessed Lane’.
We see God’s focus on us receiving blessing in a number of ways. God initiated among His chosen people that a blessing would regularly be invoked on people and it is recorded for the priests to use often.
“Tell Aaron and his sons: This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord cause His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:23-26
The very birth of the Israelite race started with a blessing. God chose to reveal Himself to a man named Abram (who became Abraham) and to make a nation of chosen people out of his descendants. God pronounced blessing over Abraham, that would be a family heritage of blessing.
“In blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies” Genesis 22:17
What’s more, Abraham’s descendants would not only be blessed but would be a blessing. Note what God says immediately after conferring blessing on Abraham.
“Through your descendants all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” Genesis 22:18
See the themes of blessing.
I will bless you.
All the families of the earth will be blessed.
God’s plan is that those who live for Him be blessed.
Those who put their faith in Christ will be blessed along with faithful Abraham.
“The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham, saying, All nations will be blessed through you. So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Galatians 3:8,9
You should be enjoying Life in the Blessed Lane. As a Christian, having put your faith in Christ, you will be blessed with the blessings of Abraham.
What would blessing look like? Consider that some people live from one incident to the next, having problem after problem, and meeting unexpected hitches and opposition along the way. A person who is blessed is not free from problems and challenges but they find that God comes through for them all the time and things work out.
Consider the various promises of things going well for us as believers in Christ.
“No weapon formed against you will succeed” Isaiah 54:17
“All things work together for good to them that love God” Romans 8:28
“Nothing can separate you from God’s love for you” Romans 8:39
“Though a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, no harm will come near you.” Psalm 91:7
And consider the observation of King David.
“I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.” Psalm 37:25
“He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, producing fruit in season; his leaf also will not wither; and whatever he does will prosper.” Psalm 1:3
Being blessed doesn’t mean we live in luxury free from all trouble, but it means the blessing of God works in our lives, despite all the things that can and do go wrong in life. God’s hand is on us and protects and sustains us, even in the middle of trouble.
The apostle Paul realised that even under difficult circumstances God’s grace was enough to keep him and carry him through.
“God said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so the power of Christ may rest on me.” 2Corinthians 12:9
If you find your life is dogged by one problem after another, and what you try to do just keeps being frustrated, then there must be some work of the enemy coming against you.
And recognise this, the enemy doesn’t have the right to mess up your life unless you give him some legal right by unresolved issues.
The Bible assures us that no curse will come against us unless there is valid reason.
“Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.” Proverbs 26:2
If any curse lands on you then remove the devil’s legal right to put that curse on your life. There are many resources that help people find Freedom in Christ. You can check out some notes I previously made about finding that freedom, at http://chrisfieldblog.com/tags/admit-your-need.
Christianity is about you Living in the Blessing of God. The Westminster Catechism from 1646 gave us “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Enjoying God is a matter of living in the blessing of God. In Christ you are blessed eternally, for ever and ever.
Look for God’s blessings, and remove any legal ground the enemy has to keep stealing God’s blessings from you. And settle down to spend the rest of your days enjoying Life in the Blessed Lane.