4:41 – The Lord Bless You And Keep You

#faithbites #faithjourney Lord

Setting

Sometimes we get in our own way. No matter how we try to make things simple, we make it harder. A prime example is our faith. We try to put all of this doctrine and ritual around something that should be quite simple: Love God, Love People. Writing #faithbites is no exception. Sometimes there is more of me and my experiences than God and his love. Today, we are keeping it very simple. When I was trying to write today’s #faithbites, the one thing that hit me over the head was the Lord’s blessing. Today, we will keep it simple and share his blessing in two different translations.

Today’s questions: Are you feeling the Lord’s Blessing? Are you celebrating in the fact that he loves you no matter what?

Scripture

• Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV) – The Lord bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; ²⁶ the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
• Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV) – The Lord bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance^[a] upon you and give you peace.

Reflection

I’m preferential to the ESV translation. The reason is the word “countenance”. It’s not a word we use often. The definition means a person’s face or facial expression. I like this one as we use the word face a lot, but God’s face is different. His face is special. I also, and I know it’s just how it sounds, countenance reminds me of count on, as in we can always count on God. When you look at this passage, this is the core of our father, child relationship. No matter what we do, may we know that we are always blessed, that he is smiling upon us, is gracious to us, and that we always have his peace. These are powerful words.

As we close, remember there is nothing you can do to earn God’s love nor is there anything you can do to not have his favor or his peace. He is our dear father no matter what and he loves you.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for loving us unconditionally. Just knowing that your face is shining upon us and that you will always be there to bring us peace can help our minds and souls rest. We thank you for this agape love. We pray that all of your children and feel the warmth of your face upon them at all times, Amen.