Blessing Versus Anointing
The blessing of the Lord is often misunderstood as the anointing. The Spirit of the Lord moves upon us and we feel great joy. The power of God comes into our lives and produces deliverance. We are set free from some bondage or fear! The believer is released from some burden or torment. The heart rejoices!! We are filled with gratitude and suddenly, we break forth in praise, adulation, and worship.
The feeling is ecstatic!!! The release that is felt is indescribable. On occasions such as this, many lift their hands in thanksgiving to God. Others clap their hands in praise and worship to the Lord. It is not uncommon to see people dance, sing, weep, shout, and express great exuberance because of the blessing of God. However, there is a difference between blessing and the anointing of the Spirit of God!
After pastoring for more than fifty years, I have watched people come to church who would respond to ministry because they were seeking a blessing. If a singer could come that would stir their emotions, or if a preacher was a gifted communicator and could inspire and stir with their ministry, people were blessed. I have watched over the years as people have sought the Lord and followed ministry because they were interested in the blessing!
If someone could bless them, if someone could stir their emotion, if someone could inspire them, they would return home lifted in their spirit and anxious to return for another blessing. I have heard thousands of people seek the Lord for His blessing. The prayer that has been heard at our altars over the years has been “Oh Lord, bless me and my house!”
Thank God for His blessing! It is wonderful when the Lord stirs our emotion. It is exciting to be blessed of the Lord. The wise man said in Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the Lord maketh rich.” In Proverbs 28:20, the Scripture tells us that “A faithful man shall abound with blessing.” The prophet Malachi warned the children of Israel that God would curse their blessing; but He promised God’s people if they would be faithful with their tithe and their offerings that He would pour out a blessing that they could not contain (Malachi 3:10).
The Lord wants His people to be blessed! He wants to bless us physically and He wants to bless us financially. He wants to bless our families and our homes. He wants to bless His people in the market place. He wants to bless our children. The Lord delights to bless His people and certainly His blessings abound. The Lord can turn a curse into blessing (Deuteronomy 23:5).
God’s blessing should produce worship. The blessings call us to break forth with singing and with laughter. The blessing of the Lord will cause the children of God to offer praise. There is a little chorus that is often sung in our churches: “I am blessed, I am blessed, Every day of my life I am blessed.”
This is the testimony of God’s people. The Lord pours His blessings upon us and we thank God for them. (Hebrews 6:14, 1 Peter 3:9, Ephesians 1:3).
The Holy Spirit brings great blessing into our lives. As I reflect back over years of ministry, I can count hundreds of times when the blessing of the Lord rested upon me. HE blessed me when I was not filled with the Spirit. He blessed me when I was disobedient and unfaithful. He blessed me when I was not committed to service. The Holy Spirit is loving, patient, and desires to bless God’s people. He is the Blesser!
Too often many that have been the recipients of such blessing have done very little in faithful service to the Lord. One of the disconcerting things that I have noticed in my ministry is that, often, people who have been blessed with great talent and financial ability have not been faithful, dependable, committed, or loyal to the work of the ministry. Money can be given, but faithfulness to the church can be lacking.
I have also observed that all too often, those who cna respond so quickly with their emotions cannot be depended upon to carry a load. When you ask them to serve, they have excuses to offer and will hedge against a commitment. If some are not blessed, if they can’t be lifted to a “spiritual high,” if difficulities come to the “body” and a battle ensues in spiritual matters, those who depend upon blessing search for another source. I have watched, ain dismay, people who came and shouted when we shouted, sang when we sang, rejoiced when we rejoiced, but forsook the “Body” when reverses came and the church would face hard times.
Those who live for blessing only are usually shallow and fade as the flowers. The Holy Spirit is the Blesser. He delights in blessing all of us.
Regeneration produces life.
The Infilling produces fruit and character.
The Anointing provides ability for us to serve and to minister; and
The blessing generates praise, worship, and a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving.
These are the works of the Holy Spirit!
[This is a series of blogs which records the book “Is the Holy Spirit Real?” by Dr. Paul E. Paino.]
I agree that blessing and anointing are two totally different things, and I like Dr. Paino’s explanation of blessing here.
But, is it possible that blessing goes so much further than that? Is it possible that blessings don’t always look like blessings? We are told to rejoice in our sufferings and trials, and to count it all joy when we are ridiculed for Christ’s sake. Even though those seem terrible, aren’t they still blessings from God? Not the things themselves, but the fact that we can rejoice through those things. Is it possible that simply being alive and serving God is blessing enough? If nothing else good ever happened in my life, wouldn’t that be enough? Is my very life a blessing I take for granted most of the time? Instead of thanking God for who He is and the fact that I’m alive and serving Him, I spend my time looking for the next good thing God is going to do in my life.
God has already provided us with everything we need for life and godliness. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to see God move and bless us as the body of Christ abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think. But, I also don’t want to become so focused on those blessings that I take for granted the seemingly more mundane blessings, like provisions for life and godliness. Maybe those “mundane” blessings are actually better than what appear to be bigger blessings.
Good stuff in this post, it made me think.
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