On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee. – Numbers 6:23-24
Recently, as several of us were leaving the prayer room of our church before a service, I said to one of the gentlemen, “The Lord bless you.” His rejoinder was, “He will if I let Him.” I said, “What about the ‘handfuls of purpose’ mentioned in the Book of Ruth?” I was referring to the crops that Boaz told his servants to leave for Ruth to glean (see Ruth 2:16), an act of kindness which she was not even aware of. The gentleman replied, “I had never thought of that.”
If we could only be blessed when we let God bless us, we would miss out on many of the good things He does for us. Throughout Scripture we are reminded of the blessings of God which are for the just and unjust alike. He gives to all men “life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25), and also “rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). These are His “handfuls of purpose,” gifts to us that are not petitioned or merited, but granted through His mercy. And He does it without our “letting” Him!
It is good for us to think about God’s blessings—including the ones we never ask for or “let” Him give us. Make it a point to try to recognize the blessings of God, and to be thankful for each one of them. We can begin by thanking Him for a Savior, as Paul the Apostle did when he thanked God for His “unspeakable gift.” When you and I were not even around to understand or see what was happening, Christ died for us. We did not ask Him to do it, nor did He ask us if He could; He did it voluntarily and without our permission.
Take advantage of the blessing of prayer this day, and the fact that God has made it possible for us to offer up the sacrifice of praise, even the fruit of our lips continually. God has already blessed us in numerous ways this day, so let us thank Him for it!