by: Dr. Allen Domelle
Matthew 5:12
“Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
In Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus preached His famous sermon on the beatitudes. In this sermon, Jesus goes through a list of attitudes that you can choose to have. It is interesting that Jesus starts each attitude off with the words, “Blessed are…” After He says who is blessed, He shows how to be blessed.
Jesus formula for blessing is by experiencing the other side. Let me show you what I mean. Jesus says before you are comforted, you will have to mourn. He says, before you inherit the earth, you are going to have to be meek. He says, before you are filled, you are going to have to “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” He says, before you can obtain mercy, you must be merciful. He says, before you can “see God,” you must be “pure in heart.” He says, before you can be called the “children of God,” you are going to have to be a peacemaker. He says, before you can have the “kingdom of heaven,” you are going to have to be “persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” He says, before you can rejoice, you are going to have to be reviled, persecuted and maligned for His name’s sake. In other words, you will never enjoy the blessed life without first experiencing the other side. There are three lessons you must learn about the other side.
First, the other side of hardship is the precursor to blessing. When you find yourself going through hard times, always remember that this is the breeding ground for blessings. God desires for you to have these things, but His blessings are always found in hardship.
Second, your attitude in trials determines your destination in harvest. When the hard times come, what you determine to do is what determines the outcome of your trials. For instance, what your attitude is like when others wrong you is what determines whether you receive mercy from others. What your attitude is like when you’re lacking is what determines whether you are filled. My friend, attitude is important to God’s blessings. You must have a merciful attitude if you want others to be merciful to you. You must have the attitude to determine to be at peace with others, even if you are wronged, if you want others to see you as God’s child. You will never live the blessed life with a bad attitude in hard times. The blessed life only comes through having the right attitude in hard times.
Third, focus determines attitude. The verse above says, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven…” Notice that your focus of rewards cannot be temporal, but they must be eternal. If your focus in life is what you get on this Earth, you will be highly disappointed with the Christian life. You must by faith believe that there is a Judgment Seat where you will be rewarded for how you life. One of the things that has kept me going throughout the years as an evangelist is that I realize that my rewards will come in Heaven. The only way you will be able to live a life of rejoicing is by keeping this attitude that your rewards are “in heaven.”
The next time you are facing trials, remember that God is about ready to send blessings your way. One of the keys to getting to the blessing is not to give up. If you will stay focused on the eternal reward, keep a good attitude by helping others, you will keep going and discover the blessed life for which you are searching.