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‘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 6:24-26 (NLT)
The blessing of the priests to the people of Israel uses the word Jehovah (Lord) in three ways, designating three distinct persons that make up one God, Jehovah the creator God of the universe.
“May the Lord bless you and protect you” speaks to the protection of a loving father over his children. A recent news story tells of a father who, upon seeing an oncoming tornado, pushed his daughter to the floor and lay on top of her to protect her. As the storm passed over the building collapsed. The father was killed while the daughter lived because of his sacrifice. Our father in heaven blesses with the spiritual blessings of choosing us to be His own, preserving us through grace, pardoning our sin, giving us second, third and fourth chances and providing us with eternal life.
“May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.” Jesus Christ, as Jehovah the Son, blesses us with forgiveness and the promise of eternal life with the Father. We are adopted by the father to be sons of God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Each of us as Christ-followers are saints and receive all the privileges of Son-ship. What an awesome truth it is! The Son of God smiles upon us and grants us grace even though we fail, we rebel and refuse to follow Him. He knows our weakness and when we come to Him for forgiveness He lovingly and willingly cleanses us.
“May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace”. Jehovah the Spirit blesses by working the forgiveness of Christ in our lives. When we open ourselves to His leading He guides us and comforts us in times of sorrow and fear. He is the seal of our salvation, the guarantee that nothing can or will ever separate us from the love of Jesus and the forgiveness afforded us by His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. The Spirit of God grants us peace in the time of turmoil, guidance when the way seems unsure and wisdom as we draw into close relationship with Him.
PRAYER: Most Holy God. I thank you for the many blessings you have given me through Jesus Christ my Lord. I praise you for the protection I’ve had in life during times I didn’t even realize I was in danger. I praise you for the forgiveness you have given me during those times I willfully disobeyed or doubted you. I praise you for the fact that you didn’t leave me alone, but sent your Spirit to be my daily guide and comfort. I pray this in the name of your Son Jesus, Amen.
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:5
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
We are unsure of when King David wrote the words of Psalm 8. It could have been written while he was on the throne in Jerusalem, or it could have been while he was on the run from one of King Saul’s murderous rampages. His present location isn’t clear, but his mindset is.
I imagine David writing this Psalm as he thought back to simpler, safer and easier times in his life. Times when his biggest enemy was loneliness as he sat in the hills of Judea watching over his father’s sheep, and his biggest fear was an occasional bear or lion or other enemy attacking the sheep when he least expected it. The words of this Psalm could very easily have come to David during his time as a shepherd, only to be written down later.
Imagine laying in the soft, cool mountain grass during the stillness of the night and looking up into the vast array of stars that make up our universe. While staring into space David is reminded of God’s great love for him. A love that is so great and enduring that God not only loves us, He honors us. He lifts us up and esteems us! To think a frail, weak, rebellious human such as I would be honored and esteemed by the ruler of the universe!
Years later, the Apostle Paul is writing his letter to the Romans and he too is reminded of God’s great love. He candidly shares with the Roman disciples his own shortcomings and struggle with sin and with failure. In the midst of this he reminds all of us that God’s love is directed to us on the basis of who Jesus is and what we do with Jesus, not on whom we are or what we can do for Him.
If the God of the Universe loves us so much that He honors and esteems us above all other things then how could He be any less anxious to bring his very best into our lives? We may not always understand the struggles we are going through or why God allows things to come into our lives. But we can know that in the end He will work everything for good in our lives.
Your Heavenly Father wants to do great things in your life. You may not understand all that is going on in your life right now, but you can know that your Heavenly Father can take even the toughest times of our lives and use them for our good and His glory.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I have to admit I don’t understand why you do what you do, particularly at this point in my life. I thank you for the promise that you love and honor me even though I’m so unworthy. Help me grow more in my love for you as you lead me through the tough times of life. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 