An observant Jew says a minimum of one hundred blessing prayers each day, beginning with the Hebrew formula: Baruch Atah Adonai. Practising Jews bless God when they see or experience something for the first time. They bless God for smells and tastes. And if something is pleasurable, they bless God. If you enjoy something without saying a blessing, according to the Talmud, it’s as if you had stolen it. ‘All these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you.’ Note the words ‘come upon’ and ‘overtake’. You never know how or when His blessings will overtake you. But unlike His goodness and mercy, which ‘follow’ us all the days of our lives (see Psalm 23:6), the blessings of God are tracking you down like a heat-seeking missile. They’re hot on your trail. And one day they’re going to overtake you. Now God doesn’t bless us so we can raise our standard of living; He blesses us so we can raise our standard of giving. The greatest blessing is the ability to bless others. Have you been blessed? That’s where you need to flip the blessing. Where has God shown you favour? That’s where you need to return the favour. There is no greater joy than being on the giving end of a gift. Isn’t that what Jesus said? ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35 NIV). There are hundreds of blessings in Scripture, each with your name on it. If you are in Christ, the blessings belong to you. ‘No matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV). So, count your blessings.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.