The Blessing
God's desire is to bless you, keep you, shine on you, and be gracious to you that you would experience His perfect peace.
“The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
Numbers 6:8, 22-27
Did you wake up today expecting blessing and favor from God? You should. What does it mean to be blessed by God? God's blessing is so much more than any worldly gift that you can receive. He wants to give you all that cannot be bought. Where do you need blessing in your life? Think of a time where you gave a gift that made someone's day. God wants to make your day, today.
How do you picture the face of God? Do you see Him smiling and shining upon you. How you see God will shape everything about how you experience God. Be careful to guard how you view God from the way that others might have treated you over your life. Our Heavenly Father is perfect and perfectly loves you.
“I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven...so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us"
Psalms 123:1-3
What happens when you lift your eyes? You see beyond yourself. You will see the world that God created and the people God created. Why do we not lift our eyes? Think about our natural physiological reactions when we are experiencing anxiety, fear, and worry. Don't we look down and in? God wants to help us have eyes of faith, not fear. He wants us to learn to look up and out.
What do you see when you look up and out? You see a God smiling down upon you and a world that needs you.
“Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin. Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor."
Proverbs 21:2-4, 21, 30
Wisdom tells us that there are barriers to experiencing the blessing of God. What is the first barrier? Pride. Proud eyes and a proud heart. How has pride impacted your life? Wisdom says that there is a need to be constantly evaluating your life. How are you tilling your heart? Is there anywhere you have avoided dealing with issues like pride, selfishness, or judgment?
“Remember, Lord, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace...We have become fatherless, our mothers are widows. Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. Woe to us, for we have sinned! Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old”
Lamentations 5:1-3, 15-16, 19, 21
It is typically when we experience loss, crisis, or find ourselves in a place of pain that we are forced to confront whether we have been faithful to the God who loves us. The challenge is God cannot bless disobedience, but God is patient. He is patient and just to wait until we are willing to turn to Him.
The enemy tells us to turn away and avoid facing God when we have sinned. Truth tells us that when we turn to God we will find restoration and renewal. God blesses those who turn to Him.
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Romans 7:4-6, 12, 14-15, 17-23, 25
Can't you relate to the honesty of Paul? How often do we do what we do not want to do and don't do what we do want to do? Have you ever sung a worship song only to get cut off in traffic and feel like cursing? Sin has an impact on our lives. The beauty of God's blessing is that we are no longer bound. We are no longer bound to continue in the sin that inevitably occurs. When we were bound by our performance in relation to doing what is right and wrong, when we ultimately experienced failure, our natural inclination could be to turn away from God.
Today is a day to turn to God. Turn to the One who made you, knows you, sees you, and wants to bless you. God is the initiator of the blessing. He tells the priests to tell the people that He wants to bless, provide grace, give peace and then He backs up His words by sending His Son. His Son is the blessing that brings to fruition the how. Jesus is how God shines His face upon us. Jesus is how we experience grace. Jesus is how we have a pathway to peace. The key is to connect your life to Jesus to receive the blessing that God has for you. How are you connecting your life to Him? How are you receiving the blessing God has for you today?