How to be Blessed

 

2 Chronicles 29:1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.2 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done….31:20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. 21 In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered. (NIV)

 

Throughout the books of Kings and Chronicles we see over and over again one common theme. As each new king is introduced there is one line written that defines their lives. In the case of some of the kings that one line is “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” In the case of other kings that one line is “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord”. 

Hezekiah did what was “right in the eyes of the Lord” (v.2). Hezekiah did “what was good and right and faithful before the LORD” (v.20). In everything he did he did “in obedience to the law and the commands” (v.21). In all that he did, “working wholeheartedly” (v.21), he was obedient to Scripture, what we now call the Bible. Hezekiah was obedient to God in everything he did. Because of this obedience, “he prospered” (v.21). 

Just as one line summed up the lives of kings that same one line sums up our own lives. We either do what is right in the eyes of the Lord or we don’t, which God calls evil. In fact, that one line can be summed up by one word – obedience. It is by obedience that we yield to Christ and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. And it is by obedience that we live a life that is pleasing to God. It is by refusing obedience that we do evil. One word –obedience- sums up our lives in the eyes of God. 

The reward for living a life of obedience is that we “prosper.” Another word for prosper is blessing. When we are obedient we receive blessings on earth and we receive the ultimate blessing of eternal life in Heaven. God has made life very simple. Our whole life is summed up by one word. It is so simple you have to wonder why so many people miss the mark. God certainly cannot be blamed. He has made life so simple that everyone from age five to one hundred and five can understand it. 

We are in control of our own lives and our own destinies. We can live a life of blessing and go to Heaven. Or we can live a life of hardship and go to Hell. It is all up to us. If things go wrong we can only blame ourselves. We cannot blame God. 

So the answer to the question “How to be Blessed?” is obedience. The answer is the same as it has always been, since God created the world. The answer is the same as it was for Hezekiah, and all the kings before him and after him. The answer is found in the Scriptures, the Bible. We can be obedient by reading and obeying the Bible.

Art Toombs Ministries 

Online Bible Commentary