“The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
”
Have you ever been blessed by someone? And I don’t mean when someone pays for your meal, says “Bless You” after you sneeze, or does something else nice for you. Have you ever had someone speak a word of blessing over you? Where they implored God on your behalf. There is something about speaking a word of blessing over someone or having someone speak a word of blessing over you that reaches into the soul.
When speaking a blessing over someone, it changes your posture towards them. Where there was indifference, there is now love and care. Where there was animosity, there is now healing. Where there was already love, there is now a greater level of intimacy and renewed concern.
When having a blessing spoken over you, it changes your posture towards daily life. Where there was striving to earn, there is now the humility to receive. Where there was the anxiety of performance, there is now rest. Where there was tumult, there is now peace.
Let’s pause there for a moment.
Maybe you’ve never had someone speak a word of blessing over you.
Or maybe you have before, but you’re in need of a spoken blessing right now.
Please take a moment to watch the video below and receive this blessing.
Allow your soul to find rest and peace.
In his book, Soul Keeping, John Ortberg says this:
The soul is seen when it reaches out in love. The Bible’s word for this is blessing. Blessing is not just a word. Blessing is the projection of good into the life of another. Blessing-giving should be asymmetrical. It’s not a form of barter. It’s grace. Our souls need blessing.
The projection of good into the life of another. Is that the posture we take towards others? Our child’s teacher? Our co-workers? Even our own family, friends, and kids? Or are we too busy to think about that? Speaking a word of blessing over someone also, even if just for a moment, takes our focus off of the projection of good into our own lives and puts the focus on the projection of good into the life of another.
Would you consider doing something clunky this week? Would you consider speaking a blessing over someone? At the top of this post are a couple of verses from the Bible. Memorize them. Take a day to repeat it both in your head and out loud, so that you can make sure you could say it at a moment’s notice.
Now here’s the clunky part: Go to someone you care about deeply, look them in the eye, and speak that blessing over them. Here’s the important part: Mean it. Think about every word as you speak them. What they mean and represent. Allow your soul to reach out in love towards theirs. And now, here’s the even clunkier part: Be ready to speak that word of blessing over someone else as the Lord leads you. Maybe it’s your kid’s teacher. Maybe it’s a parent that you know is struggling with the stress of distance learning. Maybe it’s a niece or nephew. Maybe it’s a neighbor or co-worker that is being ravaged mentally by anxiety. Maybe it’s just what that person needed to hear at the exact moment they needed to hear it.
-Pastor Tyler Lemen
Associate Pastor of Family Ministries at Friends Community Church