God Bless You

We have the opportunity to regularly encouragement others with an admonishment for the Lord to bless them. This is the power of the spoken word. You can build up another by conferring upon them the favor of God. What a simple way to sincerely wish upon another the Lord’s best with a kind, “God bless you.” We are not to say it glibly or just out of habit, but with deep feeling and genuinely desiring God’s commendation.

We can also pray God’s protection on others: their health, their travels and their relationships. In any situation of uncertainty and/or danger we can ask God to “keep them”. Or maybe someone is in dire need to experience the fullness of God’s grace. They are tired of “trying to live” the Christian life and they need a fresh ‘baptism’ of God’s graciousness. You can see it in the hardness of their countenance or in the fatigue of their droopy posture. There is missing energy and drive, they need an outpouring of grace.

God’s grace is a safe environment to recover from rejection and hurt, or to gain strength for the journey. Grace is inviting and invigorating. It is cool water for a thirsty soul. Life saps grace from our hearts while intimacy with Jesus infuses grace into our being. You can be a grace killer or a grace giver. People will flock to you because of your graciousness, or will avoid you like the plague because of your gracelessness.

The secret to giving God’s grace is receiving God’s grace. Each day ask God to renew your grace quota, fill your grace tank, so you can bestow grace on others. What a joy to extend grace to the ungracious and to receive grace from the greatest grace giver Jesus. Furthermore, our benediction and admonishment to others can be for them to experience God’s peace. Once you discover peace with God you have the peace of God.

His peace can lie dormant in our hearts or it can flourish like kudzu on a hot summer day. Be a peacemaker, yes you can win the argument, but you may lose the relationship. Why not bless with peace rather than curse with contention? When you bless others you too enjoy the blessings of God. “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9). How can I boldly bestow the Lord’s blessing? I want to receive His blessing so I can be a blessing.

Related Readings: Psalm 115:15; Isaiah 65:16; 1 Corinthians 4:12; Romans 12:14

Transformational Living
What did I learn from the Lord in today’s Bible reading?

How will I respond?