May the Lord bless you and protect you… Numbers 6:24 (NLT)
The Blessing Part 1
In numbers 6, God gives Aaron a new blessing to speak over the people. Each day at the end of the morning and evening offerings, the priests on duty would lift their hands and stretch them out towards all the people gathered and speak this blessing out over every person. It starts with “the Lord bless you” – which could be translated as ‘may the Lord bestow upon you His divine favour and give you great gifts'. Just have a think about the gifts that God gives… peace, joy, strength, salvation, hope… and so much more. How amazing that God who created the universe, authored life itself and measures our days would still bestow His glorious and generous gifts upon us. In other translations, it uses the word ‘keep' instead of protect. They both mean the same thing, but the word ‘keep' in
Hebrew directly means to ‘hedge around about'. I love the picture this creates of protection – God protects on every front – front, back and sides. In every facet and area of your life, God is there protecting you with His great strength and might. However, sometimes His protection looks a little different than what we would think. Just because God is protecting us doesn't mean that we will never face hardship, or be wounded by challenges… Keep praying – never stop praying – that God would protect you physically… but I have found in my life that above all, God is the grand protector of my heart. When I trust in Him and follow His ways, He protects my heart from offence, bitterness, hopelessness, fear and the like, no matter what my life ‘looks like'. Today friends, know that the Lord wants to bless you and protect you.
NEW DESIGNS UP!
