A Word on Wednesday: Blessed

I am blessed.

I used to use words like fortunate or lucky. I did this to sound secular, and therefore not reveal myself as to ascribing to a Christian God.

But those words can only speak to circumstances, not to being.

Blessed is audacious.

“Consecrated, sacred, holy?” “Worthy of adoration, reverence, or worship?” The Blessed Sacrament or The Blessed Trinity.

Nope that doesn’t sound right.

“Divinely or supremely favored?”

Absolutely audacious.

Next, we come to a non religious use of the word: “Fortunate: to be blessed with a strong, healthy body; blessed with an ability to find friends.” But if you mean blessed in this secular way, why not say fortunate rather than blessed. Blessed sounds so “chosen.”

One of my coworkers at day job, often says “Have a blessed day.” to both her teammates and the people they serve. And when she says it to me, I have this certainty that she means she hopes I receive God’s blessings that day. Not because she is pushing her beliefs on me, but because she genuinely wants that for me and for everyone she encounters.

In this biblical way, blessed is a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness. It is the invoking of God’s favor upon a person.

The following passage came up in my devotions this morning: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11.

This led me to think of the Proverb 16, specifically verse 20: “Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.

To accept that we are blessed, we must credit the creator for blessing us. Without that divinity, we can only hope to be fortunate or lucky. But those who trust in the Lord will be blessed.

I too hope for God’s blessings to find their way to every wanting person. So in the words of my coworker, “have a blessed day.”