Blessings are an amazing thing in life, especially when they come when you’re least expecting it. I know there are times when I’m just feeling like the world is dumping on me and then BOOM!!! blessing. Then, there are times when a blessing seems too good to be true and I shy away from it.

Then the question hits me like a boxer going for the knockout, Why are we blessed?

For a while, I really couldn’t answer that question, yet it’s probably the most obvious thing God has laid out for us. We are blessed so we can bless others or to put it another way God wants to bless through us. So paying it forward is something I’ve been putting into practice for some time now. I fight against my flesh everyday like most of us do in order to allow the Holy Spirit to work through me. If I allow my works to be prideful then all blessings I’ve received stop with me and that’s not what Jesus would do.

“He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.” -Proverbs 22:9-

For as far back as I can remember, I have always prayed for God’s blessing over my and my family’s life. Of course, I would pray that for friends as well, but that’s where it would end, never giving it a second thought as to why the Lord should bless me and mine. Honestly, it wasn’t even a concern as long as I got mine I was good, and that is the absolute wrong way to think about things. Had Abraham been selfish with the blessings God bestowed upon him there would be no nation of Israel as we’ve come to know it in the Bible.

How can I a man who has been blessed with so much not share what he’s been given to help others?

Don’t get me wrong, I have those urges to keep what I feel I have earned to myself, but then I get convicted to look at the bigger picture. If I say I care about my neighbors and their souls, why am I not able to share with them what has been freely given to me? The answer is selfishness. We live in a world where avarice is dressed up as self-love or self-worth and in some way most of us have fallen prey to this monster. What a lot of us need to do is step back, review our lives and ask the holy spirit for direction in where to go. The Helper that Jesus told us about can and will help us be the conduit in which others are blessed.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” -Matthew 5:16-

Growing up my mother was my spiritual leader and I thank God every chance I get for her faithfulness. Without the seeds she has planted in me since I was a child, I might not have come to the Lord at all in adulthood. With that being said I also acknowledge where she learned to be a blessing to me and that was from my grandmother and auntie. They were servants of the Lord Christ Jesus when they were here on earth and what they were blessed with they imparted on my mom.

Growing up in Haiti, they didn’t have a lot of material things to give, but they had love and the Lord. They shared with anyone who needed it and even those who didn’t think they needed it. What they had they gave and that has trickled down to me and my family, I am truly thankful for their obedience. In my own life, I have been making the effort to bless others whether I know them or not. Almost anything can bless someone like giving time, lending an ear, sharing the Gospel, even just living your everyday life under Christ can be a great blessing.

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” -Proverbs 3:27-

I for one feel that as a Christian it is part of my calling to reach out to others and be a blessing to them in whatever form that takes. I invite the Holy Spirit into my conversations so it can be fueled by God’s wisdom. My words hold no weight unless The Lord has given them gravity. I challenge myself and all of you to go out in the world and be the the blessing God has called us to be.

Thank you for taking time to read this post today, you are and will always be appreciated. Where I once felt reluctant to share my faith with others is now the place where I rejoice. As my grandmother and auntie planted seeds in my mother and she in me. I know it’s my duty to use the tools afforded to me to bless not just my family and friends, but anyone who might need it. Please join the way/ve of blessings and never stop Chasing God’s Way/ve.