Do you want to be the man?

As you read God’s word, once in a while you will come across the phrase ‘blessed is the man’, and then always following that phrase there is a qualifier – ‘who <insert some active or passive verb here>’. When I read about a ‘blessed man’ I would often say to myself, “I want to be that man, but how do I do that?”

In addition to saying that, I used to read those verses and I would think, “but that’s not me, someday maybe?”  And then, with 10% intent and 90% neglect, I would discard them to the ‘That will be me later’ pile. I have no idea why I did that? The 2018v.Craig is looking at these verses now and saying, “This is so simple. It’s easy to be that blessed man!”

Take a look at these qualifiers, it’s simple stuff:

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8

It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.
Proverbs 14:21

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Psalm 32:1

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.
Romans 4:8

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Revelation 1:3

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
Psalm 40:4

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12

Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. 

Proverbs 28:14

Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.
Proverbs 29:18

So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
Romans 14:22

Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.
Revelation 16:15

Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.
Revelation 22:7

Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law;
Psalm 94:12

And there are many more. Okay, some of those things may seem difficult, but they are really not, especially when you compare the act with the reward. Every single one of those qualifiers is doable.

I would like to point out that God’s qualifying standards are nothing like this worlds’. Did you notice that there are some things glaringly missing from His qualifiers???

For instance, I don’t see any mention of having enough money, or talent to qualify. Nor was there any mention of these attributes:  Good looks, charisma, college degrees, a good heritage, height and weight restrictions, locality, gender, skin color, I could go on and on.

Bottom line: God’s blessings are not discriminatory. Every single one of his blessings requires only one thing that we all possess. What is that? Your choice. That’s right, it’s as easy as that! You just make a choice to do what he says.

What does it mean to be blessed? That is a topic for another article. Just know this: it’s a good thing, especially if our creator is the one doing the blessing. I will leave you with my favorite blessing/qualifier scripture, because this one goes on to clarify some details of the blessing.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3

Yup! Quit listening to the world, and surround yourself with his word 24/7 and see what happens.