“Blessed” is such a churchy word that is often overused. A lot of people define being blessed as having lots of stuff. Others define the blessed life in terms of good health. We should absolutely “keep the temple holy,” but that can’t be it because our bodies will eventually run out of steam. Furthermore, the blessed life can’t primarily be defined in terms of popularity, intelligence, money, social media followers, or having a picture-perfect family. In the Bible, God created humanity to reign and rule with him, and this is all about blessing. God made humanity to be satisfied in right relationship with him—that’s the true substance of the blessed life. However, in Genesis 3, we chose our own way. Ever since then, the blessed life has always included how we respond to the obstacles we face. Somehow, after Genesis 3, the truly blessed life includes rightly responding to God when the brokenness of the world infringes on us. What does the blessed life look like when it meets trouble? 

READ James 1:12-18

Perseverance in troubled times is how we live in the blessed life before God. The blessing we’re invited into is all about us learning to live the Eden life right now in the middle of exiled life. This blessed life is also how Jesus began the Sermon on The Mount: “Blessed are the poor, the mourning, and the meek. Blessed are the pure, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. They get the kingdom of heaven.” We’re called to live this way when trouble knocks on our door. There are internal temptations and external trials, and God uses them all to test our faith to mature it to make us more like Jesus. This is the context of how we should think about the blessed life. So, how should we live in God’s blessing by rightly responding to trouble as we respond to God?

Start to recognize what hurts and helps the blessed life.

• Blame halts the blessed life. 
• Lust kills the blessed life.
• Perseverance fuels the blessed life.
• Gratitude sustains the blessed life.
• God gives the blessed life.

If blessing is about being postured before God rightly and ready, you can’t grow into that place if you’re busy accusing others, including God. If sin is not confessed and repented of, you become numb to it and presume on its presence in your life. And eventually, you end up living in a kind of death. By Faith, the more you endure through trials where your things, your stuff, your health, your security, or your ideals are threatened, the more you will realize that you realize that Jesus is the purest and truest thing that you need. He is your true security and your true comfort. Or, as the old hymn says, “He is thy Health and Salvation.” If we never owned another single earthly possession, the cross and resurrection would be enough to fill eternity with bursting gratitude. In Jesus, God is not calling us to anything that he himself has not also done. This is grace. This is how he gives the blessed life.