devotional for New Year's Day 01/01/12
BENEDICTION
"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." Numbers 6:23b-26 ESV
For those of us familiar with these verses being used at our church, we often think of them as an immediate blessing and a peaceful ending to the service. However, it is not just an indication of blessings already received or instantly occurring once it is spoken. In the very next verse there is a little more forward feeling:
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:27 ESV
This tells us that God WILL bless his people; it likely will take time for these blessings to occur or be fulfilled. And since we are believers in Christ, we too will receive upcoming blessings through these words because of our faith in Christ. So we don't have to think of the benediction as just an ending, it is also a beginning.
I like to think of these words as we close out one year and move into the next. God HAS richly blessed us and been gracious to us this past year. Even when we feel we have endured many trials and tribulations, we can still find blessings for which to be grateful. And God WILL continue to bless us with his grace and peace throughout the New Year and beyond!
So, I pray: The Lord bless you and watch over you with protection, the Lord look upon you with full acceptance and forgiving love, the Lord favor you and give you tranquility in his presence in this New Year and forevermore. Amen!
written by Jan Andersen
Jan...
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. The ultimate horror happened to me in November. I found out that I had uterine cancer. Still in this I found that there are blessings. For example:
1. My doctor told me that if I had to have cancer this would be the one to choose, because it is more easily cured.
2. Based on minimal symptoms I went to the doctor right away...not my usual style! Shortly after the diagnosis the symptoms stopped. If I had not gone early I would have decided it was nothing, and I would have thought it was just nothing and this thing would be free to grow and become more threatening.
3. I liked both of my doctors immensely. This is such a blessing.
4.Family members and friends have said and done such amazing things. I knew that I was loved, but I now know on a higher level the degree of their caring for me.
God is in the unthinkable things of life. You just need to look for him.
Thank you Jan!
Thank you for sharing that again, Corinne! The details had eluded me. God works in mysterious ways - we are truly blessed!
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