Wouldn’t it be great if we abounded in God’s blessings? If we walked in His favor and wonders happened to us on a continual basis?
Receiving God’s blessings describes half the Christian life, but there’s another side we can’t afford to overlook. The Bible connects blessings to battles, which shouldn’t surprise us. Don’t we often find ourselves in a struggle to achieve a breakthrough? Sometimes we detect in the air a resistance to anything good coming our way.
What does God have to say about such conditions?
Psalm 20 talks about these twin themes from a balanced and hopeful perspective. It’s not a large psalm (only nine verses long), and has two main divisions. The first is about blessings and the second concerns battles. Let’s see how each section addresses our experiences.
Blessings
May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 2May He send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. 3May He remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. 4May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. – Psalm 20:1-5
What a wish list! The psalmist pens seven blessings he’d like God’s people to enjoy. Now for many of us, a wish isn’t worth pursuing. We think that as followers of Jesus, we need to exercise strong faith, quote Bible verses, and stand our ground. Anything less is mere emotional expression. Feelings come and go; what we should emphasize is confidence in God.
But that’s not how the Bible describes our life in Christ. God doesn’t oppose the wishes of His people; He’s not indifferent to our prayers. He hears us and knows how to answer. Nothing gets left out.
Look at what’s on the list: answers, protection, help, remembrance and acceptance, fulfilled desires and plans, and the ability to rejoice when others receive their blessings. It’s comprehensive! And to remove any doubts about the Lord’s power or goodness, the psalmist concludes with a sweeping prayer request: “May the Lord grant all your requests.” That covers everything we bring to the Lord!
We can learn two main points from these verses. One, we should do the necessary background work. Before receiving the Lord’s bounties, we need to spend time in preparation. When we talk to the Father about our plans and desires, we open ourselves to His direction and guidance. If we’re wandering off-target, the Holy Spirit will lead us back onto the safe path. If we’re nervous about the future, Jesus can ease the anxiety that weighs us down. Strange as it may sound, sometimes we need a breakthrough before we receive a breakthrough! Jesus is capable of providing both!
The second lesson is that we can put ourselves in the shoes (sandals!) of the psalmist. He’s describing his wishes for the Israelites; we ought to do the same. God wants to bless us, but He also intends to work through our prayers to bless others. And as disciples of Jesus, we are to imitate our Master who gives, shares, and blesses without limits. As the writer of the book of Hebrews says, “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
We receive from Jesus God’s greatest treasures; we also pray for others to partake of His marvelous grace.
Battles
Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to His anointed. He answers him from His heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of His right hand. 7Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. 9LORD, give victory to the king! Answer us when we call! – Psalm 20:6-9
The blessings are awesome, yet we have to deal with resistance. We pray and we trust the Lord. Fellow Christians are interceding for us and we for them. All this is good, but we still find ourselves wrestling with forces that seek to defeat us and our loved ones.
The psalmist is familiar with these experiences. He offers us more than wishful thinking. Witnessing the deliverances of the Lord taught him that God comes through for His own. We, like the psalmist, are spiritual knights. We know God’s blessings, but we also train ourselves for warfare.
God sets us apart for such service by anointing us. As we busy ourselves with the business of His kingdom, we will confront evil.
Jesus demonstrated this in His ministry. As the apostle Peter explained, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
The devil destroys lives; Jesus restores them. Satan traps people; Christ liberates them. And our testimonies declare this!
No matter what the enemy throws at us, we have the ability through Jesus to prevail for ourselves and for others. The devil can’t rob the resources of the heavenly sanctuary. What God has for His people is secure, available, and abundant.
The battles are real; that’s why we pray. But we do so with the assurance that God hears us and answers us. As we look to Jesus, we find the blessings we’ve been seeking, but we also find Him changing us to be like Him. We, too, become agents of blessing for others.
Praise the Lord for His blessings and His victories!
