Kia Ora Friends,
Thanks to those of you who gave feedback on ‘Winter Dreams’. Let me know if you would like more fruity posts. I have to admit I have found the past month somewhat challenging. I haven’t always been doing the things that keep me feeling good. Going for a walk is less appealing than the comfort of slippers. Then there’s winter eating -not the soup kind! That said, I’m getting back on track again and feeling the results.
This post is about experiencing the Father’s radiant love and blessings. We can lose this sense of being blessed when we are suffering mentally, or caught up in the ‘noise’ of the world. Some people feel like their lives are far from blessed, even cursed. I had a time where I felt like this. Mental illness passed down through a family, physical illness, untimely deaths, and many sufferings can lead to this wrong conclusion. We are never beyond God’s heart of blessing.
A Bedtime Story
One evening over lockdown, I was on a phone call catching up with a friend I hadn’t spoken with in years. Part way through the call, I heard a child’s voice interrupt her. My friend said, “sorry I’ll just be a moment” and then I heard her whisper these words:
“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.”
It was bedtime and my friend’s son had sought her out, needing to hear his blessing before going to sleep. These words above are a translation of the blessing God gave Moses for Aaron to bless God’s children (Numbers 6:24). The Aaronic blessing has been spoken for thousands of generations. It features in the song at the end of the page (don’t miss listening to it).
Blessings Deep and High
All blessings come from God such as; our health, family, friends, finances and sunshine. Blessings also go much deeper and higher. When we are ‘in Christ’ we have every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3-14). This is because of what Jesus did for us at the Cross and His resurrection. It is easy to forget these blessings when we are mentally unwell. It is also easy to overlook them when life is good. We are reminded of what we have as we gather together to worship. One of the many spiritual blessings we have in Christ is the Holy Spirit living within us. He gives us hope for the future and empowers us to live in the here and now. Nicky Gumble has written on the many spiritual blessings we gain in Christ. All this to say, we cannot be more blessed than to be found ‘in Christ’.
Blessing One Another
We are a source of blessing to one another. In his book, ‘Life of the Beloved’, spiritual writer Henri Nouwen reveals the nature of deep blessing. He notes that a blessing is not a mere compliment, but it is, ‘to affirm, to say “yes” to a person’s belovedness’ and that ‘a blessing touches the original goodness of the other and calls forth his or her belovedness’. You will know when you are blessed in this way. Well-known pastor Timothy Keller gave an insightful message about our need for blessing, deep affirmations from those who discern who we really are. He highlights the fact that we can’t bless ourselves; we need this to come from others-people who know us. He describes how important it is that believers have times of experiencing this deep satisfying approval from our heavenly Father. As God affirms us we find the hole in our souls is filled. When we are suffering this can be difficult to sense and we may need others to help us hear it.
A Blessing Story
When I was in trauma and mentally acutely unwell, I felt I like I was cursed. This was not true, as I was in Christ, but I was out of my right mind. Many people showed our family how blessed we were, by their heartfelt acts of kindness and prayers. After being discharged from hospital, I was low functioning and despairing. We have lovely friends who were our neighbours and ran a church home group. One evening I dragged myself over to group. My concentration was poor. I didn’t know most of the people. That evening the group prayed for me. My friend Nick felt God impressed these words on his heart to share with me. They are adapted from what God spoke at Jesus’ baptism, “this is my daughter whom I love, with her I am well pleased”.
‘When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased”.
Luke 3:21,22 NIV
I was deeply touched. I felt God approving of me, loving me when I felt so empty. This is the power of a prophetic word. I also felt love from those concerned for my well-being. If I hadn’t gone to the group, I would have missed that moment. There are always other moments that come, but I think when we’re low we need to wrestle, even drag ourselves to places where we are blessed by God. It can take humility to turn up when we know we are at our worst. It is good to take opportunities for prayer such as after a service – even if we go forward week after week. In that time, I couldn’t hear God’s tender heart blessing me. A friend heard it and spoke these powerful words of life over my life. These words weren’t just for me, they are for every believer.
Keller and Nouwen both affirm that we do well to meditate on the blessing given at Jesus’ baptism. God ministers to me about His love when meditating on short scriptures such as this. Listening to a song like the one below helps me connect to God’s heart of blessing. It is easy to get distracted amidst the increasing pace of life. It is good to be intentional about making spaces to sense the Father’s heart for us. If you find this hard to do your own you ask a friend to pray with you. We are also blessed to be a blessing to others. It’s a privilege to pray for people.
‘The Blessing’ Song
‘The Blessing‘ was written by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes in the midst of the world’s ongoing pandemic. It is powerful to hear people of many nations singing blessings over their people, their children and the world. Many countries including Aotearoa, United Kingdom, the Arab World, and Zimbabwe have recorded it. As you hear it be open to hear God’s heart for you.
May you know the radiant love of your Father who delights in you. May you know you have every spiritual blessing through what Jesus accomplished at the Cross and Resurrection.
You are blessed,
Bronnie
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Credits
Photo of Father and sons by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com
Quotes and references to Henri Nouwen’s work are from:
Nouwen, H (1992). Life of the Beloved and Our Greatest gift. Great Britain, Hodder and Stoughton, p.56, 57, 63.
Reviving Hope 