19/08/2026
𝐈𝐂𝐘𝐌𝐈 | THE TRUE MEANING OF BLESSEDNESS
Scripture: Luke 1:42-45
Speaker: Ptr. Melvin Escoto
What does "blessed" really mean? And how can you live this "blessed" kind of life?
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was visited by Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
In Luke 1:42-45:
“and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.’”
But if we look at Mary’s life, can we really say that she was "blessed?"
What were Mary’s struggles?
* Her pregnancy — In the Bible, this was considered "taboo," meaning it was unacceptable to conceive a child before marriage. They would stone you to death.
* Joseph wanting to secretly divorce her — In Matthew 1:19: “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” But an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him not to divorce Mary, because Mary was carrying Jesus, our savior.
* Exhausting travel
* Homelessness during delivery
* Fleeing from a massacre
* The death of her firstborn
You know how painful it is for a mother to lose a child.
BUT MARY IS CALLED, “BLESSED AMONG ALL WOMAN.”
When we go through difficult circumstances in ministry, we often ask God, "Lord, did You really call me? If You truly called me, why am I suffering like this?"
But brothers and sisters, the fact that you are there, the fact that you are suffering—THAT IS THE PROOF THAT GOD IS CALLING YOU!
Think about Mary: she was going to give birth to the Savior, so it should have been with the best doctors and in the finest place...
BUT NO.
JESUS WAS BORN IN A MANGER, A FEEDING TROUGH FOR ANIMALS.
Sometimes, when we are stressed, we can hardly see the blessings of God—at work, in our family, in everything.
We think that when we serve God, we automatically get VIP treatment. But always remember that the only VIP in our ministry, in our service, is CHRIST.
The most important part of our service is CHRIST.
We cannot truly see the beautiful blessings of the Lord if we are unsatisfied—when we refuse to surrender everything to Him, or when our desire and definition of blessedness is gaining everything in this world.
Sometimes in life, we have so many IFs: "Lord, I will serve You if..."
You are NOT SERVING THE LORD, then, you are SERVING THE WORLD.
Because you want to invest everything you have in this world, wanting only to satisfy your earthly desires.
Now, JESUS gave us the true meaning of blessedness. We can see that nothing seemed "good" happened to Mary from the moment she became the mother of Christ. But that is not the point.
THE STRUGGLE IS WHAT STRENGTHENS HER.
THE STRUGGLE IS THE PROOF THAT GOD WANTS HER TO BE HOLY.
But then again, MARY NEVER SAID ANYTHING IN THE BIBLE NA MANALANGIN SA KANIYA—she never said that we should pray to her. Even as the mother of CHRIST, she never told anyone to pray to her.
Luke 11:27-28 says:
“As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’”
Now, my brothers and sisters, this is the true meaning of BLESSED!
Brothers and Sisters, being blessed is not having the WORLD. Being blessed is HAVING THE WORD OF GOD.
That is why we often don't realize we are blessed—because we don't read the Word of God! It can't just be a passive "Christian thing." No! You can never truly experience the true meaning of blessedness without reading the Word of God.
Despite all the circumstances, hardships, and trials, we are STILL serving God because we have joy in our hearts and BECAUSE OF HIS WORD.
NOT BECAUSE OF OUR MIGHT BUT BECAUSE OF THE POWER OF GOD!
That is why we should love and value Christ more than the world. Because if you love GOD more than the world, that is when you will understand the true meaning of being blessed—that even when you are suffering and going through trials, you can still rejoice and give thanks to God.
As Apostle Paul said, “GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.” Even when he was in prison and suffering, he was rejoicing in the Lord.
BECAUSE SERVING GOD IS NEVER EASY. BUT THIS IS THE GREATEST PRIVILEGE IN THE WORLD.
So let us desire the blessing of having Christ in our lives above all else.
