God Bless You!

Three little words: “God bless you.” How often we say them casually…almost as an   afterthought. Yet how full of meaning they are. We often sing that lovely hymn at weddings: “Showers of Blessing.” That phrase is not the poetic outburst of some songwriter. It is a direct quote from Scripture: “I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing” (Ezekiel 34:26).

The blessings that come from God are an outflow of His gracious character. The Scriptures are full of references to God’s mercy and kindness. We see it from the very first chapter in the Bible—Genesis 1. After God created Adam and Eve we read these beautiful words “And God blessed them” (Genesis 1:28). He even blessed the creatures of the sea and birds of the air (v. 22)!

Although God’s blessings are always an expression of His grace, we also see that at times God’s blessings are dependent upon man’s obedience. In Genesis 12:2-3 God spoke to Abraham and told him what He would do for him and through him if he would trust and obey. That sevenfold promise established a relationship of blessing, which we call a covenant. The words bless, blessed, or blessing are mentioned five times in those two verses.

“I will bless you.” The revelation to Abraham and Sarah was that their God was a God who wanted to bless them individually; but God’s blessing is never an excuse for selfishness: “And you will be a blessing.” The Hebrew is taken as an imperative. This is really a command. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. Amazingly, His concern is that the whole world might be blessed! The missionary mandate of the church does not begin with Matthew 28:18:20. It begins with God’s covenant with Abraham. We are blessed so that we might be a blessing.

There is a fable about a man who found an enormous building in heaven. Inside the building he saw rows and rows of neatly stacked boxes, each tied with a satin bow. When the man found the box with his name on it, he quickly tore it open. Inside his box, he found all the blessings that God had wanted to give to him while he was on earth, but he had never asked.

How you respond to God’s promises determine what God will be able do in your life. We are not saved by making promises to God; we are saved by believing God’s promises to us. It was God who graciously gave His covenant to Abraham and he responded with faith and obedience.

Dr. S. D. Gordon wrote that he could never forget his mother’s paraphrase of Malachi 3:10. The verse begins, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,” and ends with, “I will pour out a blessing.” Her paraphrase was this: “Give all He asks; take all He promises.”

“How thankful we should be that God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of His grace, and not according to the poverty of our faith” (Arthur W. Pink).

In closing, I want to pray over you the beautiful blessing given from the Lord Himself to Aaron his sons.

“And this is the way you are to bless the People of Israel. Say to them:

The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you

And be gracious to you;

The Lord turn his face toward you

And give you peace.”

Numbers 6:23-27