The Blessed Life – Preaching Review

What does it mean to be blessed? When was the last time you truly felt blessed, beyond finances and worldly standards? Last Sunday, November 18th, in the East Congregation, Pastor Joven Quilacio illustrated what it means to live a Blessed Life, according to God’s will.

Often times, we quantify our blessings based on what we receive. When we receive a promotion or a raise, we call it a blessing. If someone gives us an unexpected gift, we call it a blessing. If our children or spouses do chores without complaining, we call it a blessing. But is a blessing merely a good thing that comes along our way or is it a matter of how we live our lives according to God’s will?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.
– Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

I’ve held onto this verse for as long as I can remember. It’s one of the verses that truly stuck with me since I was in Sunday School, and it was only until recently that I’ve truly understood the depth of what it means. God’s will for us is perfect and good, according to His standards, not our own. Before we can live the perfect and good life that God has already intricately laid out for us, we need to surrender our desires to Him.

In the preaching, Pastor Joven gave us the illustration that if we put one foot on a rock and the other in quicksand, we will still sink no matter how strong or firm the rock may be. Sometimes our own desires and wants and dreams for ourselves are exactly what drags us down, which is why we need to learn to let go of those and stand firm on God’s promises instead.

As humans, we can get difficult and stubborn and we try to bargain with God and ask Him to bless the things that were never part of His will in the first place. This could be the high paying job you wanted, or the relationship you sought after, or even the way you choose to live your life.  God can only take our own desires so far until they begin to burn out and burden us – and that’s not His fault. God can only fully bless and fulfil His ultimate, perfect, and good plan for you, which is why we need to trust Him with all our heart.

Blessings aren’t the little perks or checkpoints in our lives, but it’s the entire journey that we live under the will of God. It’s truly and only when we trust in God, humble ourselves and not depend on our own understanding, and actively seek His will in everything, that we will live a Blessed Life.