24 "The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace."
Have you ever sat down to think about what is a blessing? It is a recurrent theme that the Holy Spirit has been whispering in my ear this week. Remember the blessings. Remember the blessings. As the past two weeks have gone on, one would possibly believe that this would be easy. But it has not been. If anything, since starting this ministry, the rememberance of blessings has become more difficult. Thus our adventure today.
In Robert Stroud's book, "The B Word", one of the first highlights is that it is the nature of God to bless. It is not as if this is some right we have earned, some prize won at a carnival game, or something that we took from God. It is the Nature of God to bless. It is an enjoyment of the Lord to bless his people. Even though, WE have done NOTHING to earn it.
What is the blessing? What does the above passage mean? What are we asking God to do? The blessing basically breaks down into five parts.
- bless and keep you - That God will show favor and protect
- make His face shine upon them - That God will be pleased
- be gracious - That God will be merciful and compassionate
- turn His face toward them - That God will give his approval
- give peace
Isaiah 55:8 (NIV) says
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways" declares the Lord.
When we ask for a blessing from God, a gift of something we have done nothing to earn, it amazes me when God answers. Believe this...God ANSWERS. It may or may not be in exactly the way you are asking, but it will ALWAYS be in the way GOD intends.
Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) says
"so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and will achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
I have some friends who recently lost a daughter after a lengthy illness. They are one of the inspirations for this ministry. This family touched so many lives with their story. People they never met, people they never will meet. They started a blog to share how life was going. This tool could reach alot of people and save them from having to repeat the information over and over (although that still happened as well).
They prayed and prayed.
Their friends prayed and prayed.
Friends of friends prayed and prayed.
Old friends, forgotten friends, people who never even met the family prayed and prayed.
Their church congregation and the congregations of other churches prayed and prayed.
Their daughter went to be with Jesus on July 5, 2010.
Many may read this and go, "Well, that didn't work very well." And yet they would be so wrong on so many levels.
God blessed this family. And this family blessed THOUSANDS of others and so did God.
At the time of passing, the family blog had over 17,000 views. Over 17, 000 attempts for those who may or may not have known this family to gain an understanding that God was working here. God was preparing this family and anyone who came into contact with them for great things.
While there is sadness for the family and all who have come to know them, there is peace. There is a knowledge that God now cradles this child.
This is a child and a family in which two scriptures are present.
1. Matt 25:21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness" (NIV)
&
2. 2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (KJV)
My point is that the blessing did not come in the way that anyone here on earth wanted it to happen. The blessing was about so much more. The ability to reach more people than could have ever been imagined was truly a God thing.
My challenge to everyone is to look beyond the end of yourself. Look beyond the troubles that appear to be nipping at you. Look beyond the poor outlook you may have. Clearly view the world around you and seek the blessings that God has granted to you.
Can you find them?
Will you thank God for them?
I leave you today the same way I greeted you. My prayer for you is that you will study the word given here today and that you will use it to impact your live and the lives around you for the glory of God.
Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
24 "The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace."
Such a good verse! It's so easy to become impatient waiting for answers to our prayers, often we don't realize they've already been answered in His way! I have a story to share with you, I'll message it...
ReplyDeleteReading these entries makes me wish you'd do them EVERY day! :)
All I can do every time I read this verse is to sing it. I can't every read it anymore. It just comes out in song. Every baptism at the church I grew up in sang this song to the infant as the pastor carried them around the congregation. I used to sing this song to the kids at work. I now sing it to my kids. This is a blessing to read and I am glad you are passing it along to others.
ReplyDeleteI too, wish you'd do them every day :)