A Blessing

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’ So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22-27 ESV).

Our reading today is taken from the Old Testament when Moses was giving some last instructions as the people readied themselves for entrance into the Promised Land. Moses tells Aaron at the command of God to bless the people with a very specific pronouncement: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (vv. 24-25). I have recited this prayerful blessing over many people in numerous contexts. One of the churches I pastored became the setting for me to use this blessing at each morning service as I walked down the aisle to the main doors dismissing the service. I often use it as the last prayer and blessing in wedding ceremonies. It has been a powerful promise of God in my life. It occurs to me that we easily forget to bless others. As believers, we can know in our hearts that God is Sovereign and strong. We can believe that His plans for us, for our loved ones, are for good and that He has blessing in store as we follow after Him. Yet often, when life presses and things feel stressed, when problems overwhelm, and hardships come our way, our focus gets blurred. We somehow start to believe that it all depends on "us." Somehow we come to believe the subtle deception of the world and begin to think that our circumstances are completely our responsibility. If we failed it is on us that we are off the path of peace and success. So, we begin to work harder trying to find a fast way out of difficulty. Trying hard to get one foot into an open door, or wondering why a closed one shut. We start thinking that if we're not "able enough," "talented enough," "brave enough," that maybe God can't quite bless us. We forget that the very God who created this entire universe, who holds the stars in place, and knows the exact number of hairs on our head, also knows our way. That His favor rests on us as we seek after Him first, and He holds the power to cause things to happen in just a moment, that would otherwise take us years to do. He can line up our pathways to cross with others He wants us to meet. He can open doors that leave us surprised at how they open. He can close doors that He knows are not the best for us. He has a plan, in the good, and in every hard thing we face. Take this blessing and make it yours today!