Are You TRULY Blessed?
Walking Into the New Year with Obedience, Grace, and Victory
Are You TRULY Blessed?
Walking Into the New Year with Obedience, Grace, and Victory
Every New Year, we tell ourselves we’re ready for change. We want to get rid of old habits, old fears, old wounds, and old cycles. We make resolutions, promises, and declarations. Yet for many of us, the issues we thought we buried eventually rise again, often with a vengeance. Addiction resurfaces. Financial hardship returns. A negative mindset creeps back in. The anger or bitterness we thought we buried suddenly reappears.
We pray. We believe. We ask God for deliverance. And then we wonder: Why does this keep happening? Why am I still fighting the same battles? Why do some struggles cling to me?
The Word of God gives us a sobering yet liberating answer.
Why Do These Things Keep Happening to Me?
In Deuteronomy 28:58–59, 61–62, God speaks plainly to Israel about the consequences of disobedience:
“If you are not careful to follow all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God… then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues.” (vv. 58–59)
“…the LORD will bring on you every disease… until you are destroyed.” (v. 61)
“…because you did not obey the LORD your God.” (v. 62)
These verses can feel weighty, and they should. They are meant to wake us up. Not to paralyze us with fear, but to remind us of a spiritual reality: God saves us by grace, but blessings require obedience.
Salvation removes the penalty of sin. Grace empowers us to overcome sin. But obedience determines whether we walk in blessing or in cycles.
When patterns, addictions, or hardships return repeatedly, Scripture encourages us to examine not God’s ability, but our obedience.
There is No Condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)
When patterns, addictions, or hardships return repeatedly in your life, it is not to condemn you, but to instruct you. Ask yourself: Are you only obeying the parts of God’s Word that are comfortable? Are you honoring His name when no one is watching? Are you surrendered in word and in lifestyle?
Many Christians want blessing without obedience, change without discipline, and victory without surrender. But God does not merely want to rescue us, He wants to transform us.
Christ’s grace gives us strength.
The Spirit gives us conviction.
The Word gives us instruction.
What we do with them determines whether we merely survive or truly walk in blessing.
Practical Applications for Daily Victorious Living
Audit Your Obedience, Not Your Intentions. Ask the Lord where you are selectively obeying. Intentions don’t bring blessing, obedience does. Start with one area of surrender today.
Honor God’s Name in Hidden Places. Blessing begins in private long before it shows in public. Pray, speak, and act in a way that honors God when no one sees.
Use Grace as Power, Not Permission. Grace is not an excuse to continue cycles. It is the God-given power to break them. Pray daily for strength, then act on that strength.
One Final Thought
God does not expose disobedience to shame us; He reveals it to free us. As you enter this New Year, don’t settle for temporary relief or superficial resolutions. Instead, pursue authentic transformation. Blessing is not random. It is not accidental. It is not reserved for a select few.
Blessing is the fruit of obedience empowered by grace. God has already saved you. Now He wants to bless you.
The question for this New Year is not: Are you saved? But rather: Are you willing to obey so you can be truly blessed? If you are, then this year does not have to repeat last year. Cycles can break. Addictions can end. Fear can fall. Lack can be replaced with provision.
Not by your strength, but by grace-fueled obedience to the awesome name of the Lord your God.
Experience a New Life in Jesus Christ
If you have not yet experienced the life-changing power of a relationship with Christ, we invite you to open your heart to Him today. Embrace the truth of His resurrection and embark on a journey of transformation, guided by His presence and fueled by His mission of love and redemption.
The Bible teaches us in Romans 10:9-10 that “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Do it today and start enjoying a new life in Jesus Christ.
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Scriptures for this Bible Study taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB), © 2026 The Lockman Foundation. Used with permission. www.Bible.com
“Are You TRULY Blessed?” is a Christian Bible Teaching presented by Second Ridge Ministries
01/23/2026 | © 2026 Second Ridge Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
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