Daily life with Jesus by Grahame Howard: Bless and Appreciate People

Friday 27 January 2023

Bless and Appreciate People

"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 upon you, and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV

The priests used this blessing in the sanctuary, but it is also ours too and a way that we can bring blessing and peace to people. When we do bless them, we are also showing them love, gratitude and the message is, ''I appreciate you.' We all need to know that we are appreciated, it helps us to be secure and confident.

When a priest, or indeed any Jewish person made this blessing, they would usually end with 'Shalom', which is peace being reinforced. But many times they would say, 'Shalom, Shalom' which means perfect peace. Warren W Wiersbe comments on this: 'Peace or Shalom is one of the great words in Hebrew vocabulary, and it means much more than the absence of storm and trouble around us. It involves quietness of heart within us, spiritual health and spiritual prosperity, adequacy for the demands of life, and the kind of spiritual well-being that rises above circumstances. Peace describes that deep and satisfying rightness with God, which is what Paul had in mind when he wrote Philippians 4:6-20' The Wiersbe Study Bible

The Jewish people, even today, greet people with 'Shalom, Shalom' Isaiah 26:3.They also use this term when they leave someone to return home. It helps put a seal on the relationship and saying you want the recipient to be totally protected and blessed throughout their day. Many Christians today, use this term as well but, one has to ask are they saying this because it is a well known part of our Christian language or, do they mean 'Shalom, Shalom - Perfect Peace'. It is food for thought. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the lingo that we have to beware of saying certain things because it is expected.

All over the place, and possibly in your church, people are longing to feel appreciated for what they do and for who they are. Is there someone that comes to mind who could do with a text or telephone call saying how much you appreciate them and to give them a blessing. It can be a cold society at times, one where some are worried about the economy, their health, lack of finance and a stack of problems. Just one word of encouragement can make them feel loved and accepted and even though they may still be in the same position, make them feel that things are going to get better.

Give it some thought and pray about it. You may just bring a word of comfort and love to someone who is feeling low at this time.