Blessings for The New Year

At this time of year I always find myself pondering the coming new year and what all is in store for me. Most people make New Year’s Resolutions, but I gave that up years ago as I always felt like I failure when I didn’t accomplish my resolution. However, with the state of the economy and unrest in the financial and political world I am really finding myself thinking about the coming year. I asked myself, “What would you really like the New Year to hold for you?” I immediately thought of “Blessed!” Please don’t think I don’t know I have already had a very blessed life, because I have. I thank God daily for all His many blessings. Some that came to mind are my comfortable life, enough money to pay the bills and put food on the table, a loving family, a wonderful husband, a Christian heritage and the list could go on and on.
I love the song by The Martins Count Your Blessings.
Here are the lyrics to the chorus:
“Count your blessings,
you’ll find one if you try.
Count on the Lord and
watch your blessings multiply.
Those might haves, could haves,
Should have been,
are nothing but distressing.
When you’re down and out
It’s time to count your blessings.”
So with things in the material world in such disarray stop and count your blessings.

As we look into God’s Word to find more about blessings, I first thought of Luke chapter one when Gabriel came to Mary to tell her of the impending birth. In verse 28 we find "And having come in, the angel said to her,'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" (NKJV) Can you imagine being told you are blessed and highly favored by the Lord? Oh what a blessing that would be. If we look a little further to other references about blessings we find in Deut 2:7 where the Lord was talking to Moses and said "For the LORD your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing." (NASU) If we just trust the Lord and do His will, we will be blessed! In Ps 1:1-3 we find these encouraging words “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.” (NAS) Are you firmly planted and ready to be blessed and prosper? The next reference I want to use is Ps 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,” (NIV) Once upon a time our nation was a Godly nation and we were blessed. Let’s pray for our nation and our new leaders that they will lead us back to being a Godly nation so we will continue to be in God's favor and receive His blessings. Finally our last reference comes from Luke 11:28 when Christ was speaking to the crowd after he had just freed a man from demon possession and he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." (NIV) So my brothers and sisters in Christ to receive his blessings in 2009 let us not worry about the state of the nation and the economic woes, but instead let’s meditate on His word, hear and obey. Instead of wishing you a Happy New Year I want to wish you a Blessed New Year.