Psalm 67: 1 God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us- Selah.
This portion of the psalm is taken from Aaron’s benediction in Numbers 6:
22Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
23“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:
24The LORD bless you, and keep you;
25The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
26The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.’
27“So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”
This bit about the Lord’s face shining on them really got me today. What would that look like? Then I chuckled to myself because it actually happened in Matthew 17:
1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.
I’m sure that over time, the words of this benediction got old, sort of like some of our recitation of the psalms or the Lord’s Prayer. We can say them in our sleep and we forget what they mean. Words, when spoken over and over again lose their meaning. They kind of become mundane, like saying “Amen” when we are finished with our prayer. Most of the time, we mean “the end” instead of “so be it.”
But this whole face shining thing…Years after the transfiguration experience, I bet when Peter spoke Aaron’s benediction over his friends, he remembered the face of his Lord shining. What joy must have been on his face when he said it!
Again I was thinking, “Wow! I want to see Jesus’ face shine on me!” I had to chuckle again. (It’s good like medicine, right?) We are promised to see His face shine:
14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. Revelation 1
Our Lord’s face shines on us. They prayed it in the Hebrew scriptures, they were given a short glimpse of it in the New Testament, but we will be able to see it around the clock for all of eternity! I even believe that we can fell the warmth and brilliance of it now.
So, today, Reader, I ask that the Lord would shine upon you, that you would experience His light in a new way today. Peace and blessings to you!
Psalm 66:8 & 9
Amplified Bible (AMP)
“Bless our God, O peoples, give Him grateful thanks and make the voice of His praise be heard,
Who put and kept us among the living, and has not allowed our feet to slip.”
When thinking about feet slipping, I think about falling to sin. I used to be hypersensitive to falling to sin. I was so worried about sinning that anxiety built up to the point of panic attacks. I acted and reacted with fear in situations of temptation to the point of making me appear guilty. Isn’t that just the way satan works?
I DO NOT believe the Lord wants me/us to live that way!
My focus was off. I was thinking about and meditating on potential sin, when what I should have been thinking about and meditating on was the Lord and His ways. In a way, such a mindset was lifting up sin and giving it power over me, elevating it to idol status!
Didn’t Jesus die on the cross to break the power of sin over me/us? YES!!!!
The Lord even gave me a dream during this off focus period assuring me that I would not fall. (He’s so good to me!)
He will not allow my foot to slip! Therefore, I can dream with Him and be His partner as I live my life in peace here on earth.
He will not allow my foot to slip! Therefore, I can worship Him with all that I am and teach others to do the same.
He will not allow my foot to slip! Therefore, I can love like He does and spread His peace to everyone I contact.
He will not allow my foot to slip! Therefore, I will not obsess about sin or potential sin; I will have one holy obsession, one holy passion…Jesus!!!
I’m so thankful to be free of this bondage!!!
Thank You, Lord for holding me and directing my path. You love me and will always keep me from slipping. If I mess up, You are by my side to help me stand tall again, because You will never leave me or forsake me. Thank You! I will make the voice of Your praise be heard! AMEN!!!