Living in God’s blessing
‘I will bless you … so that you will be a blessing’ (Genesis 12:2).
At the end of our worship services, the pastor blesses the congregation. The blessing will often take the form of the words Moses gave to Aaron: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favour, and give you peace’ (Numbers 6:24-27).
The blessing is more than a signal that the service is over. As we leave worship to go out into the world again, God tells us that we do not go alone. He goes with us, blessing us so that we can bless others. Our hands are his hands, our feet his feet.
Such a blessing fills our lives with meaning, purpose and vitality. Being blessed takes away the need to be anxious and self-absorbed. We don’t need to carry everything on our own. We are free of all that – to live for others and love them as we know we are loved. So don’t worry. God has more than enough blessing for everyone.
Blessing is a spiritual experience in which we know that God holds us in his care. It is knowing that there are others who care, support, and pray for us, who share our joys and sorrows. When that blessing penetrates right down inside our hearts, when we feel it deeply, we experience healing of our mind, body and soul.
God has always wanted to bless us. The very first thing God did when he made people was to bless them. ‘When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them “Humankind” when they were created’ (Genesis 5:1,2 NRSV).
Blessing is a spiritual experience in which we know that God holds us in his care.
God’s blessing continues to be powerful and life-giving. Sometimes, with all the pressures and haste of the modern age, we forget how important that is. Busy with our thoughts, we rush on to the next thing on our list of ‘to dos’ without really hearing the blessing. We miss hearing God say that he will always be with us, and we can call on him at any time because he is right here, ready to give us everything we need. It’s so important to know that.
When we’re living the blessing by blessing others, it becomes impossible for us to curse them, attack them, or complain about them. Instead our heart, mind and soul are full of the good things of God that we want to pass on. We have no time left to plan our revenge or getting even. Those unpleasant thoughts fall away. Living in God’s blessing means the devil has no room to manoeuvre. We could even say that blessing others has become our purpose in life.
Next time your worship service reaches the end and the pastor speaks the blessing, stop and listen carefully. God is taking you into his care. He is giving you a real, life-changing and precious gift. Receive it gladly and get ready to pass it on, because there’s more than enough to share.
You know how much God loves you, and how much he loves the world. He gave the life of his Son to save it. That’s the blessing above all others, and we want the world to have it.
