Day 8 - Journey of Prayer

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall 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 lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.’ So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.” Numbers 6:24-27

Today we are focusing on the final two phrases in the blessing God gave to Aaron long ago to speak over the Israelite people. These living words are for us today:

...the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.

I think you might agree with me that it's a common struggle for God's children to fully believe that he delights in them, that he smiles when he sees them, and that he fully embraces them with his limitless love. Do you waver in believing this truth? This battle was big and real for me in the past. I just felt like I had to earn the Lord's smile. I think part of the wrestling comes for us because we live in such a work/reward based society; we are daily trained in this mentality. Even today, after many years of walking with my Savior, I have to remind myself that I do not have to do anything to gain my Father's love. I have to go back to the basics a see myself as His cherished child, wrapped up in his loving arms, receiving his accepting smile, just because He said so (right, Missy Gowen Washam?! )

Let's be revived by the knowledge that God's "countenance on us" is full of delight!

As I mentioned in the devotional on page 19, "Of course, He doesn’t smile at our sin, but because of His steadfast love for us, He provided a solution for our sin—Jesus. We don’t have to clean ourselves up to gain His approval; no, He smiles on us while He cleans us up." God is sweetly allowing me to experience this truth of full and unconditional acceptance (one more time) while I am currently in Chicago. I'm here visiting my daughter Maggie Marie Gilmer and her family. On Monday, we celebrated her daughter/my grandaughter's one year old birthday! After a fun day together, singing, playing, hugging (repeat), it was finally time for Hally's bath and bed. Can I tell you that I was beaming at little Hally, so full of big personality, ALL DAY LONG? She had nothing to prove to me. I was already ALL IN with my love.

Believe that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit--the triune God, is ALL IN with His love for us. Notice in the verses above that "the Lord" is mentioned three times in the Aaronic blessing so that we understand this all-encompassing love!

When we fully embrace this truth, we then experience the fullness of the last gift in these verses: we are blessed with his peace. Ahhh, Lord, bless me indeed.

Dear Lord,

Take all doubt from our hearts! Please help us to fully turn our faces towards you so that we can receive every bit of the blessing you intend for your children. Cause your smiling face to shine on us so that we beam your love to the world! We thank you that you are ALL IN with us. We pray this blessing that you spoke long ago, not only over our own hearts but also over every person on our list. Amen

For further reading: Psalm 34:5; Isaiah 26:3; Luke 15:11-24