Blessings From Above

Today's Devotional from Pastor Bayless Conley

Embracing the Blessings of God

Ephesians 1:3 is a verse that is often misunderstood. It tells us,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

I used to read that and wonder what in the world a spiritual blessing in a heavenly place in Christ really was! I truly believed that I had been blessed with it, but I didn't have a clue what it meant.

Then one day as I studied, I found out that the word spiritual literally means Holy Spirit-conferred. The Amplified Bible helps clarify the meaning when it says, He has blessed us with every Holy Spirit-given blessing.

What it means, literally, is that the blessings you and I enjoy as believers in Jesus Christ come from heaven's vast resources. And they have already been conferred on us. Isn't that awesome?!

But there is something more. These Holy Spirit-conferred blessings include any blessing and benefit we get from God, be it material, physical, emotional, or spiritual.

So, when God heals you, it is a blessing being conferred through the agency of His Spirit. When God brings peace to your troubled heart, that is a blessing from the Holy Spirit. And when God supernaturally supplies material needs, that is the Holy Spirit at work blessing you from the vast resources of heaven!

But here is what I really want you to grasp. Based on this verse, all those blessings have already been given. They have been issued. On God's side of the ledger, they are a done deal. He has already signed them and sent them.

So praise God for…and embrace…His blessings in your life!

What are your blessings? In mine, I count my wife and son, my extended family and friends, my health, the talent God gave me to write and the peace He gives me when troubled times come and I remember to focus on Him. All good things, all Heaven sent.