Blessed Forever

“And now, LORD, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and [it shall be] blessed for ever.” (1Ch 17:26-27 AV)

These are the words of David in response to the covenant God had made with him.  The LORD had promised David his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel and that eventually, the Messiah would sit eternally.  The LORD also promised to build him a house and a nation to rival even the most magnificent Gentile kings and kingdoms.  God also promised to give David peace from all his enemies.  This covenant was unconditional.  From time to time, the covenant was suspended.  But it was never nullified.  The LORD Jesus Christ will return and finish the covenant made with David.  So, when the king states God’s blessings are permanent, he isn’t kidding.  The same is true for the saint.  When God blesses, He does not un-bless.  What I mean by that is the blessing happened.  It is a fact or event of life.  It cannot be undone.  The effects of the blessing may ebb and flow, but one cannot ignore that blessings happen.  When the LORD sends blessings, they are forever.  This is easy to forget in times of trouble or trial.  Even when the effects of blessings are persistent, it is easy to grow blind to them, because the overwhelming nature of our current situation obscures it.  If we remember how blessed we are, it might be easier to see it.

As I get older, I am fighting the tendency we older people get as we reminisce.  We look back on the good old days and become discontented with how life is today.  We look back at how simpler life was.  We appreciate how innocent the times seemed.  As we think back to our childhood and how we entertained ourselves with bicycles and skateboards we wonder why life isn’t so easy.  We remember our neighborhoods being mostly safe and one didn’t have to worry when riding all over town.  Then our minds go to our early married years and the joys that raising a family brings.  We remember the first steps, the first words, and the first grade.  We recall our children succeeding in life, playing sports, accepting Christ, and being baptized into the church.  The Awana Awards night, high school graduation, and college graduation all seem so long ago, but are a pleasant memory.  Of course, their wedding day and the birth of our grandchildren are most precious of all.  It is funny how a bit of adversity clouds the memories of all those things.  What is worse is when we compare the blessings of yesterday with the trials of today and walk away resentful.  That should never be the case.  Solomon warns about this in chapter seven of Ecclesiastes.  To think the former days are better than the present is a waste of emotional reserve.  Rather, we should remember the blessings of God are forever.  Nothing can take away what I have just mentioned.  I have three godly sons with three godly wives who love the LORD and serve Him faithfully.  No attack by the adversary can rob me of that.  Most of all, I have a home in heaven promised to me the moment I accepted Jesus as my LORD and Savior.  I am permanently blessed!

The world does not understand this.  They believe if they heap enough trouble on our heads, then we will die a miserable death.  Not so.  In fact, the more they heap on us, the more we remember that our home in heaven awaits!  We cannot compare the perfection of God's presence to anything we may have to endure here, and the more the world tortures us, the sweeter it all grows.  No matter their effort, the world simply cannot undo the blessings God has given to all those who trust in Him.  As frustrated as they are and ruining what God loves, they cannot undo the blessings of a sovereign God.  David understood this.  Yes, he was not naïve in thinking that all his seed would live perfectly before the LORD.  He knew that given time; man will be what man always is.  The promise was the Messiah.  The promise assured David that he would be eternally blessed in Christ.  And the same is true for us.  We may fail God more than we care to admit, but Christ eternally blesses us.  We may succumb to the flesh or allow our hearts to respond in fear, but in Christ, we are eternally blessed!  Glory!  Praise be to a wonderful and loving God who knows our frame, foreknows all that we will do or fail to do that will disappoint Him, yet choose to bless us instead.  Amazing love, how sweet it is!