God's Blessings

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: "The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." ' "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."  Numbers 6:22-27 

When I was in high school, I attended a church in which the presence of the Lord and His peace were evident from the moment I walked through the door. The pastor exposited the Word of God, chapter by chapter and verse by verse in a simplistic, but powerful and compassionate way. At the end of each service, he would close his sermon with these words of blessing from Numbers 6.

If we meditate on these verses, we can discern the heart of God. Three times the Lord uses the word "bless." As the Lord fills us with His countenance and peace, we are able to represent Him to others. We cannot be blessed apart from God because blessing is two-fold. His face shines upon us so that we in turn bless Him. His desire for us is to bless us and keep us in His care. He wants His face to radiate through our faces so that others may know we serve a God who makes us shine with His favor and His countenance. The Lord is gracious and desires for us to live with peace. These spiritual characteristics take on physical attributes displayed in our lives.

As you look at your life today, do you reflect the countenance of the Lord who loves you and knows you by name? Do you live in fear or in peace? Not only does He know us by name, but He places His name on us, so that our words, attitudes and actions represent Him. Do you have peace, even in the midst of trying circumstances? By understanding the heart of God, our desire should be to draw closer to Him. The Lord is consistent. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His heart's desire is to bless you and to give you peace. We realize that we are not blessed because of anything we have done but because of His mercy through the blood of Christ. Ask for the Lord's blessing on your life today. If you have come to know Jesus Christ, you now bear His name and are called a child of God. And, we know from Numbers 6:27 that by receiving His name as His child, He will bless us.

~Daily Disciples Devotional~