The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22-27 ESV)
One of the things I enjoy about the Jewish culture is how "The Blessing" is instilled into their daily lives from their father. As children prepare to leave the house everyday for school, or especially for a special occasion, the father would bring all his children around him and pronounce a blessing from God upon their lives."
This touches my life deeply as it is something my father had done to his family and it is what I've tried to instill in my family.
When Esau recognized that his brother Jacob had stole the firstborn blessing from his father he called out, "Don't you have a blessing for me also?"
That prayer has been the cry of generations for the span of time - "Don't you have a blessing for me also?"
I recently sat with a man in my office who was struggling with some personal sins that was affecting his own spiritual life and that of his family. My heart went out to him as he sat there and told of the 3 dads in his life and the abuse they brought to him. He was sobbing so much that he could hardly get words out to talk.
He just kept saying, "I want my dad's approval."
That has been the cry of many men and women in that they just didn't get the approval they needed from their father and it ended up having an adverse effect upon their lives.
I have heard that men's prisons often pass out greeting cards for them to send home to family on special days. When Mother's Day came all the men wanted to have a card to send home to their mother. Thinking this program to be a success they tried it again on Father's Day. Surprisingly, they hardly gave any cards out to those prisoners.
There was a huge disconnect with these men and their fathers.
I'm a hugger. I often reach out and touch people as I talk to them. Every time I do that - I'm sending silent prayers up to God "Please bless them and fulfill their hearts desires." I'm praying that they don't have to look elsewhere for the blessing or in the wrong places or people."
You might be saying, "So, what do I do? I didn't get the approval of my dad. I have spent my whole life trying to get people to approve me and tell me that they like me."
The answer is this: The reality is that you might never get the approval of your father or from the people who surround you. It is then that you must come up to the Heavenly Father on a daily basis and ask Him to put His hand of blessing on you."
I like what 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, "Our adequacy/ sufficiency is not from ourselves. It is from God."
I don't need man's approval but I need God's approval. That's all I need! When I came to understand that - it changed my perspective on how I relate to those around me at home and at work and in day by day life.
I feel inadequate and insufficient every day of my life. I feel as if I'm in over my head often. I have to, on a regular basis, look up and say to God - "I'm your child. I am in you. I know you are going to give me the adequacy and sufficiency that I need. I trust in you. Amen."
I pray that every person reading this will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are loved and so very very special to God. Man might has let you down but you are now covered by the blood of Christ and are the "treasure of His heart."
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