Devotion for the Week...
It has been a dismal May in my part of the world, with an abundance of rain and drizzle and a smattering of fog to round out the dreariness. There have been a couple of mornings, though, where the sun has broken through the clouds for a moment or two while I'm out walking with the kids I babysit. It feels glorious! Even the toddlers notice when the sun breaks through and suddenly they can see their shadows on the ground. And then, when the sun disappears behind the clouds again, they comment on how "really, really dark" it is.
That feeling of being outside when the sun breaks through the clouds is exactly what came to mind the other day when I saw reference to the blessing from Numbers 6:25-26:
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”
God gave this blessing to Moses so he could teach it to Aaron and his sons, so they could speak it over the people. More recently, you've probably heard it as a song and there are many versions with singers from a particular country praying it over their country. The Canadian version is here.
These few verses are such a powerful and beautiful blessing! What more could we want to pray over the people we love than that God would be turned towards them in favour and blessing? What more could we want for ourselves than to have the light of His love and grace shining down upon us?
That is my prayer for you for this week and for the future. May you feel the blessing of His face shining upon you as clearly as we feel the sun shining on us when it breaks through the clouds.
Since today is Pentecost, I'm particularly mindful of how God sent "His face to shine upon you" though the blessing of His gift of the Holy Spirit. It's sometimes easy to forget that it's the Holy Spirit who gives the convictions we feel, the words we need, the love we have, to do what is good and right and God's will. That's the blessing of God's face shining on me. I want to remember it every day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that song - I don't think I've heard it before, but our pastor regularly uses those verses as a closing blessing.
ReplyDeletePraying for very sunny days for you!