The other day, I was listening to an awesome podcast called Reaching While Teaching by Shanine Alessia. The topic of the episode I listened to is “Are You Blessed or Are You Stressed?” During the episode, she interviewed Yoland Innis, the founder of Inspirationally Yours.
She asked her a question that immediately sparked my interest, “Can you be both blessed and stressed?” The analytical part of my brain began racing. I started wondering, Could this be? Could God put us in the position of receiving a blessing that could also stress us out? Therefore, I want to know if YOUR blessing is currently stressing you?
I went back and forth in my mind while trying to identify what in my life God has blessed me with that may also be stressing me. It made me wonder, if God gave me something that was stressing me, was it even a true blessing?
What is a blessing?
If you look up the Greek definition, being blessed means being happy or fortunate. Therefore, God’s blessings should be treated as an extension of happiness or favor by Him.
The first indication of a blessing in the Bible comes from Genesis 1:28. God blessed Adam and Eve, and told them to be fruitful and multiply. He said it again to Noah and his family. But before that request, Noah found favor in God’s eyes (Genesis 6:8). God also blessed Abraham and said he would be the father of many nations and He would bless him and also Abraham would be a blessing.
For that reason when God blesses something, it brings reproduction, growth, fruitfulness, life, happiness, favor, and protection.
With so many provisions, why is my blessing stressing me?
The word of God tells us that if we delight in God, He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). Because of this, whenever we get what we asked for, we believe that it is a blessing. But is it, really?
“In the verse, God isn’t saying He is giving us what ‘we want’, but what TO want. If you delight in God, He will fix it to tell our hearts what to want.”-Chandler Moore
We tend to believe God gives us what we want if we earnestly pray for it. In Philippians 4:10-20, Paul writes to the church and speaks on how he knows what it is like to have both plenty and little. Regardless, he decides to be content in every situation, whether good or bad. Paul knows God will supply all his needs because the blessed are those who trust in God (Psalm 2:12).
Ask yourself if what’s in front of you is a blessing? If so, are you trusting God with it?
If I owe all that I have, including my blessings, to God, does that also include my stresses?
Our stress comes from our inability to properly respond to our situations. An example of this is if I receive a car as a blessing, but I have a problem with the maintenance of it. My stress isn’t the car; it's my response on how to keep up with maintaining the car. Nothing God gives you removes your need for Him. No matter what God blesses us with, we are still dependent on Him on how to manage it.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1Peter 5:7). We must share our burdens and stresses with God, instead of trying to control everything in hopes of managing everything on our own.
If your blessings don’t bring about growth, fruitfulness, and most importantly, happiness, then they’re no longer blessings, but curses. Imagine receiving the job, house, or spouse you asked for, all of which you believed were blessings. If you become stressed from those things, you must reevaluate the source of that stress.
“The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it” (Proverbs 10:22). Blessings shouldn’t hurt you or bring anxiety, nor difficulty. If so, this is a direct contradiction to who God is. Verse 6 reads, “Blessings are on the head of the righteous.” Ultimately, the principle of blessings comes from righteousness, obedience, and servanthood.
If your blessings are stressing you, check the following:
Is it a blessing?
What is the source of my stress?
Am I trusting God with what I have?
Am I managing my blessing properly?
Am I still walking in obedience, righteousness, and servanthood?
God blesses us as a witness to others. Our God is a great God with all power in His hands. Other non-believers must be able to identify that. And will you allow it to be the identifier of your blessings? As humans this doesn’t mean you will not stress, but it is how you will respond to it?
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