Have you ever been blessed? How did that make you feel? Did you experience joy, happiness, peace and hope? I did. Have you ever blessed someone? How did it make you feel? How did it make them feel? What is the greatest blessing you have received? Is there a way to be blessed all of the time? Let us find out.
First let us make sure we understand what a blessing is. Dictionary.com defines it as 1. the act or words of a person who blesses. 2. or a special favor, mercy, or benefit: 3. or a favor or gift bestowed by God, 4. or the invoking of God’s favor upon a person: 5. or praise; devotion; worship, especially grace said before a meal: 6. or approval or good wishes: I see from this definition that anyone can give a blessing. That there are different types of blessings but the ones I would like to focus on are 1, 3, 4, and 6.
I have found that having someone bless me is an amazing experience. It humbles me, gives me hope, encourages me, and makes me feel special. It is valuable to me now, just like it was valuable to the sons when a father blessed them as recorded in the Old Testament. The story of Jacob and Esau comes to mind. Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of Esau by both Rebekah and Jacob and this is the blessing: “Then his father Isaac said to him, ‘Come near and kiss me, my son.’ So, he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven
and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” Genesis 27:27-29 (ESV)
We see this blessing had promises for the future, promises of prosperity and leadership. It passed on authority. It asked for God’s favor. This is an example of 1, 3 and 6.
Esau then came for the blessing and ultimately the end of the story is this. “Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: ‘Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.’” Genesis 27:38-40 (ESV)
It seemed Jacob had only one blessing to pass on and it was already taken by Jacob. I am not sure why there was only one that could be given. Today I believe fathers can and should bless their children, and we can look to the blessing of Jacob to craft a blessing for your children. Make them unique to each of your children.
The most important blessing is the one that comes from God the Father. There are multiple times when God blesses people. However, I want to show you the blessing that God the Father gave His only Begotten Son Jesus. It was simple and concise and gave Jesus his identity. Matthew 3:16-17 contains that blessing. “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” (ESV) In one short sentence God the Father gave Jesus all Jesus needed. He proclaimed to all who could hear that Jesus was not just God’s Son but that He was His beloved Son and though Jesus had not yet started His ministry on earth that His Father was well pleased with Him. I imagine what I would have felt like if my dad would have sent me off to my first job and he would have told me that he was well pleased with me. I would have had hope in the absolute success of what was to come.
Now, I would like to give you a blessing which is the blessing of God to His Chosen People Israel. “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. ‘So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.’” Numbers 6:24-27 (ESV)
I knew that when I became a child of God the Father, I would be blessed by Him and I would be well and that gives me more hope than anything else in this world. That does not mean that all things will be perfect but it does mean that God my Abba Father will be there to bless me. If you have not put your life into Jesus’ hands then you can learn how to start here.
So, join me in being blessed by the best Father you can have. Immerse yourself in the blessings of your Father God. Acknowledge the blessings of God your Father because He will always bless His children. He wants to know you personally and be your Heavenly Father. When you know God as your Father you will have hope. One day, He will make all things right, give us more than we can imagine, and we live in hope for yourself, then you will also give hope to others by living in God’s provisions. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for my sins and yours as well. It satisfied all my sins from the past, in the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because wisdom shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope and pray that you join me in choosing Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here.
You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here.
eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
Soli Deo Gloria
