The Blessing
If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.
* * * * *
Most every one of us has gone through a period in our life journey when we are walking through the unknown. It’s a journey through unfamiliar territory that can take on many different faces such as disease, financial hardship, the breakup of a relationship, the loss of a loved one, extended unemployment, or the like. Even when you know that God is walking with you through every step, and leading you through it, and drawing you close … it still is a journey that weighs heavily and causes you to become exceedingly weary. You may be walking through just such a journey right now. If that’s the case, my prayer is that this post will provide some respite for you.
The Israelites had been on the journey of their exodus from Egypt for approximately a year; and though they had experienced God’s provision and protection, they were weary and ready for the journey to be over. When you’re on a journey through the unknown, there is no place to really call home – whatever there was is no more, because you’ve left it behind; and whatever is ahead, you have yet to experience. You feel displaced. You tend to feel disconnected from the world around you.
Even when you know that God hasn’t forsaken you and He’s right there with you, there can still be that disquieting in your spirit. When i first wrote portions of this post, my family and i were nearing the end of the fourth month of a journey through the unknown (and unbeknownst to us at the time, several more months still loomed ahead). Though we knew our Lord was going before us and ordering our steps, i would not be completely truthful if i didn’t tell you, we were beyond ready for the journey to be over! We hadn’t expected the journey to last that long. We had expected to arrive at our destination much sooner. We hungered to put down roots in our new land. As grateful as we were for God’s provision and His protection, we were ready for the journey to be over. We were ready to share the testimony of what God had done through the journey, instead of what He was still doing.
We had many friends who endeavored to encourage us in our journey, but we found that it was difficult for those who had never walked a similar path. Though i will be forever grateful for those who still tried, i must confess that their encouragement sometimes failed to fill the void.
Because of what we were walking through, we found ourselves relating to the Israelites and having a pretty good understanding of how they must have been feeling and what they may have been thinking when God told Moses to instruct Aaron and his sons to bless the people. And gratefully, the blessing the Lord had for His people that day is the same blessing He has for us today!(1)
May the Lord bless you and protect you. We are admonished by the psalmist to bless God. “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”(2) We are to acknowledge Him for Who He is and thank Him for all He has done. We are to bless one another, expressing our wishes for God’s blessing on one another’s behalf.
But when God Himself blesses us, that is wholly another matter! What we say, we hope will come to fruition; what God says, He will move heaven and earth to bring about. What He wills, He does; and what He does, He completes. As the sovereign and almighty God, when God blesses us, He does so with His best for us in mind. As the omnipresent and omniscient God, when He blesses us, He does so in ways that are not only for time but also for eternity.
And God’s blessings will exceed anything that we can imagine, because His view is far greater than ours. His blessing will include His protection – protection from anything or anyone under His Lordship – and that includes anything or anybody, including Satan and his minions. Can you think of anything greater than a blessing from the Creator of the universe? How about from your Heavenly Father who loves you perfectly? How about from the King of kings and the Lord of lords? Receive the promise of His blessing and His protection!
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. I can think of nothing more inviting, nothing more comforting, and nothing more encouraging than the Lord’s smile. It is a smile that at once communicates His love, His acceptance, His concern, His compassion, His delight, His tenderness and His welcome. It is a smile that “includes”; it doesn’t exclude. It is a smile that “encourages”; it doesn’t ridicule. It is a smile that says, “I love you more than you will ever know.”
And with His smile is a grace and a graciousness that cost Him the shed blood of His Son. It is a grace and a graciousness that gives and gives and gives, when I have done absolutely nothing to merit it. When I didn’t love Him, He was gracious. When I didn’t obey Him, He was gracious. When I ignored Him, He was gracious. Receive the radiance of His smile upon you and may you grasp and comprehend the full extent of His grace and His graciousness!
May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace. His favor includes His kindness and His goodness, but it is more than that. It includes His support and His friendship, but it is more than that. It includes His mildness and His mercy, but it is more than that. His favor is Him extending to me and on my behalf all that is His; placing all that is His at my disposal for my benefit. And with that favor He extends His peace – His peace that exceeds all understanding - a peace that comforts in the midst of any circumstance, and a peace that calms any storm. Receive and experience the fullness of His favor and the depths of His peace!
Fellow sojourner, take heart. No matter where you are in your journey, or how much longer your journey may take, receive the fullness of His blessing:
“May the LORD bless you and protect you.
May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the LORD show you His favor and give you His peace.”
i have included the lyrics for the song, “The Blessing,” at the end of this post. The song takes these words from Numbers 6. Allow the song (link below) to enable the blessing of God to make its way into your heart . . . and from there, into your soul . . . and receive the blessing from the One who is able to bless you like no other!
* * * * *
Portions of this post have been taken from chapter 5 of my book The Wandering Years.
* * * * *
(1) Numbers 6:22-27
(2) Psalm 103:1-2 (NKJ)
Copyright © 2023 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
Photo by Bas van den Eijkhof on Lightstock
* * * * *
The Blessing
The Lord bless you, and keep you
Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you
And give you peace
(Repeat)
Amen, amen, amen
(Repeat)
The Lord bless you, and keep you
Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you
And give you peace
Amen, amen, amen
(Repeat 3x)
May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children
(Repeat 3x)
May His presence go before you
And behind you, and beside you
All around you, and within you
He is with you, He is with you
In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
He is for you, He is for you
He is for you, He is for you
(Repeat 2x)
Amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen
Amen, amen, amen
May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children
May His presence go before you
And behind you, and beside you
All around you, and within you
He is with you, He is with you
In the morning, in the evening
In your coming, and your going
In your weeping, and rejoicing
He is for you, He is for you
Ohh
He is for you
Ohh
Songwriters: Christopher Joel Brown / Steven Furtick / Kari Jobe / Cody Carnes
The Blessing lyrics © Worship Together Music, Capitol Cmg Paragon, Be Essential Songs, Kari Jobe Carnes Music, Writers Roof Publishing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiko8DSRMZI
(Kari Jobe – The Blessing (Studio Version/ Lyric Video)