Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ..."
"Hi, how are you doing?" How many times do we utter this phrase (or something like it) every day? It is inevitably acknowledged with a "I'm doing well." How sincere is my question and is the response really genuine; do we actually listen to it? Not very often. Rather, it's mutually understood that it's a simple greeting rather than an inquiry into, or revealing of one's well-being.
I find it that way when I am talking to God. I glibly speak words of thanksgiving and praise that are more of a preamble to my list of requests than actual expressions of gratitude and awe. Paul uses the phrase, "Blessed is the God..." three time in his epistles. I usually skip right over those four words to find out what's in it for me. In this case, He's blessing me with untold spiritual blessings;i n 2 Corinthians 1:3 He's comforting me in my trials; in 1 Peter 1:3, He's blessing me with the living hope of eternal life.
I am truly thankful for the blessings God showers on me, but the Holy Spirit is prompting (convicting?) me to shift my focus from the blessings themselves to the Blessed One who bestows them. This particular adjective, "blessed", is used only eight times in the New Testament and is used exclusively as a description of God. It characterizes how I should think of Him, what my heart's attitude ought to be.
Oh God, I haven't the words to express my gratitude to You for who you are, what you have done, what you do, and what you promise in the future. Please, Holy Spirit, help me today to shift my attention from me to Him. Let words of praise be continually on my lips. Amen.
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