Song of the Day
“The Blessing” by Kari Jobe & Cody Carnes
Scripture to reflect upon
- Num 6:24-26,
- James 3:2-12,
- Prov 18:21,
- Deut 30:19-20,
Devotional thought
The idea of blessing and cursing is so intriguing to me! The power of our words is not fully understood by many of us, in my opinion. The Old Testament shows us several examples of how God used blessings and cursing to bring about substantial situations. The words people spoke made an impact on the one who received those words!
Moses is recorded giving Israel a long list of blessing and curses in Deut 28, among other passages. Then in Deut 30:19-20 he gives Israel a choice. He says to them, “I have set before you blessing and cursing, life or death. Therefore, choose life…!”
I want to remind you reading this today that this option, this wonderful choice, is still available to us all! We can choose to walk in blessing or in curses. The choice we make will put us under the blessing and favor of God, or it will lead us out of that and into a life without the favor of God – which is the biggest curse any of us could ever experience!
This song today is so great! I love that the author(s) took the text from Numbers 6 and put it to music! When I sing it, I picture a literal, physical, blessing resting upon the hearer and I think of the implications of such a blessing upon their lives!
“May His favor be upon you, and a thousand generations” is a lyric we sing in this song. Now just stop and picture your family walking in the favor and blessing of the Lord for another thousand generations! Picture what that would entail, and tell me that your stomach doesn’t get butterflies as you think of the ramifications of lives transformed by the blessing of God. It absolutely excites me to know end, and I desire all of us to be under the favor of God.
I don’t know if you need to be reminded of this today, but your words matter. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that what we speak actually will produce life and death! That is pretty powerful, right? Why don’t we choose today to be a people of blessing, and to start blessing the people that we encounter each day.
How do you think your life would change if you learned to use your tongue to speak life into people and situations? James recognized this in James 3:10 when he spoke of curses and blessing coming from the same mouth. He said it should never be so. He also said earlier in that chapter that the tongue has the power to change the whole course of your life. Just like a ship’s rudder guides the ship, so does the tongue guide the vessel of our life!
My challenge today is just to be a person of blessing. Firstly, to walk in God’s blessing by choosing to follow His ways and to be faithful to Him. Secondly, to speak and pronounce blessing upon the people I encounter daily. To make sure that blessing and cursing is not coming for the same mouth that is to be consecrated to the purposes of God! That is my challenge, are you willing to embrace it as yours too?
May our Lord richly bless you and your family as you make the decision to fully worship and trust in Him alone as your treasure! I will leave you with this final blessing from Numbers 6:24-26,
“The Lord bless you and protect 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.” ’
Prayer
Father, thank You for blessing me in so many ways! I want to be under Your blessing all the days of my life, and I ask that I be able to see Your blessing rest upon the generations that come after me Lord. Please help me to tame my tongue and to speak in a way that brings life and blessing to the people around me. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
