The Lord Bless You

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special 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.’” Numbers 6:22-26

WHEN GOD INSTRUCTED Moses to have the priests speak these words over the people of Israel, the blessing was given not as a request for the Lord to grant them his favor, but rather as an announcement of God’s intention to shower his grace upon them. God wants his people to enjoy the assurance of his plan to bless them. Isn’t it good to know that the Lord’s settled disposition toward you and your family is to bless you?

But what does it mean to be blessed? When we pray and ask God to bless our plans, we are essentially inviting his presence right into the center of our lives. Experiencing God’s blessing is not merely getting good things from God. The essence of blessing is getting more of God.

To be blessed is to be deeply content in God, to find our home so securely in him that adverse circumstances cannot shake us. To be blessed means that we are pervasively happy in God alone. It means we can lift our eyes and see God’s smile on our lives and on our family. His face is radiant because he sees us not for who we are on our own, but for who we are in Christ. He is not focused on what we’ve done, good or bad, but on what Christ has done on our behalf. To be blessed is to live each day in peace because we know our God is not stingy with grace. His settled intention is to show us his favor, or grace, when we turn to him.

Lord, what a good God you are to bless us, protect us, smile on us, extend grace to us, show us your favor, and give us your peace. We know that we stand under the stream of your abundant blessing only because Jesus plunged himself under the stream of your curse in our place. He endured the full weight of your wrath so that we could enjoy the vast wonders of your favor. We know that you will protect our souls for eternity only because there was no protection for your own Son. You can turn your face toward us only because you turned your face away from him. We rejoice in your unfailing love and mercy, and we ask that you increase our love for you.