“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations” (Psalm 67:1-2).
The first few verses of Psalm 67 have changed how I think about God’s blessings and his gracious favor to me and all his children.
Blessings and good gifts from our heavenly Father aren’t just for us and our benefit. If anything, the positive impact on our lives is secondary. That sounds backwards to how we often think about blessings bestowed upon us, right?
According to the psalmist, the primary purpose for asking God to be gracious and bless us and make his face shine on us isn’t for us. It’s for God’s ways to be known on earth. It’s for other people, that they might come to know the God who loved them so much that he sent his Son to live, die, and rise again for them.
So often, I ask God for things to better and improve my life or the lives of my loved ones. I ask for his blessing and favor—and as God’s child, that’s good and right for me to do! But so often, my reasons are self-centered.
How will this help me? How will this improve my life and make things better for me or for my loved ones?
How much better to shift my perspective and say, “Lord, how will this help others? How will this improve their lives and make things better for them?
“Please be gracious to me, even though I do not deserve it. Bless me in ways that I cannot even begin to imagine so that my cup overflows. Make your face shine on me—assure me of your love and favor for your Son Jesus’ sake. Do all of this so that people who don’t know you may see how you have blessed me. So that they may see your glory in how graciously, freely, and lovingly you give. Because of the blessings you shower upon me, provide me with opportunities to give you praise and tell people of you and your great love for them.”
God blesses each of us in so many ways, even though we don’t deserve it. Those blessings are unique to us and our circumstances. He has put people in our lives who see how we react to the blessings he gives (as well as the ones he withholds). How we react, of course, is rooted in the ultimate, amazing, undeserved blessing that we all share by faith: what our Savior Jesus has done for us.
Because of Jesus, we have a heavenly Father who loves us with an everlasting love. We have a family of brothers and sisters beyond number, like the stars in the sky above. All our sins are forgiven. We have a home in heaven waiting for us.
Those undeniable truths change how we react to the blessings God gives and withholds. And those godly reactions are opportunities to give an answer for the hope we have when asked by those who don’t yet know Jesus and his love for them.
And so, dear Christian, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.”
As you consider the amazing blessings God gives you each day, discover what God wants you to know about the unsearchable riches of Christ, which are yours by faith, and the love of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge, in Ephesians: The Unsearchable Riches of Christ.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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