Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is how you shall bless the children of Israel.’ You shall tell them, ‘Yahweh bless you, and keep you. Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’ “So they shall put my name on the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”
Numbers 6:23-27 (emphasis added)

Flesh problems have no spiritual currency. They have no spiritual worth. On the other hand, spiritual problems have enormous currency in the flesh. There is significant influence and interconnectedness. John didn’t want people to prosper and do well according to the flesh or the world. He wasn’t hoping for great wealth, fine possessions, political influence, great health, and many children. He hoped, prayed, and eagerly expected their spirits to prosper — because he knew that first, that was the most important, and second, that in prospering their spirit there would follow a prospering in the flesh (3 John 1:2). What form it would take would depend on what the spirit could handle. That’s the great thing about Word-based prosperity. Not only do you not get anything you can’t handle (nothing that could be a stumbling block), when your spirit prospers first then the hold physical things can have is broken. It won’t matter if you get rich or not. Palace or shack. You’ll be focused on the Lord and joyful regardless. The Lord will be able to bless in the natural because you won’t let it hold back the spiritual.

Spiritual always trumps natural. Because it is so important, the Lord instructed them (us) how to bless each other. It was important to bless in person. Yes, you could speak life into them from a distance, but true blessing has a power when it is face to face. It can’t be rushed. It needs to be deliberate. Said devoutly and with a whole heart. Eagerly expecting the Lord’s best to rest on them as you pray the blessing over them.

The first part of the blessing was toward the person themselves. An increase of their lives and their wealth. Once increased, the prayer was for the Lord to guard and protect what He had increased from everyone. Every person, animal, spiritual force, or natural phenomena. Whether a rock, lion, thief, or flood; they prayed a hedge of the Lord’s protection around themselves and their possessions (Job 1:10). Not to hoard it. To protect it so there were resources available to bless their neighbours, friends, and those who passed through their community. Not a Blue Zone of longevity, but a God Zone of prosperity. Where the health, wealth, well-being, and generosity of those within would astound anyone witnessing it.

Next was the favour of the Lord upon them. This was a granting of favour. Favour doesn’t mean instant success. Favour is the empowerment to prosper in what you do. Success in what you lay your hand to in faith. We’re called to do everything by faith (Romans 14:23). If it is faith, then it is something we know is in accordance with the Word of God. We listen every day all day long for prompts, advice, or I wouldn’t if I were you notes from the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). If we know that we are not violating the morals of the Kingdom, what we do will be Blessed. Favour also means speedy resolution. Front of the line. Excuse me, this person has a reservation stuff. They pray that not only should God hear them, but that He will fill the request speedily. Favour in what they do, favour in what they pray.

They prayed peace and God’s smile. That could have been the whole blessing right there. Peace is the reverse of separation and fragmentation. It is a request for the Lord to lift the barrier that we erected between us and Him with our rebellion. Asking God to welcome us in with a joyful heart. That He suppresses His anger at sin (which He did through the redemption of the cross, Romans 8:1) so that everywhere we go, His face shines on us. What did the angel say? Peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Psalm 36:9-10 says “For with you is the spring of life. In your light we will see light. Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.”

True peace always comes with a glimpse into the what will be. The human mind is conditioned with a need for future thinking. We are most comfortable when we know there is stability. When we know what is coming toward us. When we know what tomorrow will bring. Not the nitty gritty, but the broad strokes. We like security. We get anxious when there is none. When we don’t know where money will come from, whether food will appear on the table, if bills will be paid, if jobs will be kept, if we’ll feel good, if we’ll stay healthy, etc, etc; we tend to get stressed. It’s true in the natural and it’s true in the spiritual. Prophesy isn’t always about what is specifically coming in a season, election, or weekend. It isn’t always a view at the natural situation in front of us. Sometimes, it is simply a reminder that God has plans (Jeremiah 29:11) and that they can be trusted (Isaiah 55:8-9). If you hear a word and it is not for you, take comfort that God has words, that He is sharing words, and that the future is not a chaotic grab bag of events.

If prophecy in the natural is a comforting blanket that the Lord does indeed have us, then spiritually we also need hope. A vision of expectation to latch our thinking on so that we can go forward. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). The Lord’s peace always comes with a glimpse of our future. Scripturally, He gave it to us in the book of Revelation. Practically, He can reveal it to each of us individually. That doesn’t always mean a vision. It could be by vision, dream, word, thought, or feeling. But however it comes, it is a glimpse into the world to come. Into the country we will inhabit for eternity alongside Yahweh God (Hebrews 11:10). A glimpse at the peace which is marked by an infinite, unbroken, and undisturbed existence, untainted by punishment (Romans 6:22-23).

Finally, they bless with the name of God and the name of God alone. There is power in the Name. There was in the Old Covenant. And there is in the New Covenant. “Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). There is a weight to the Name of the Lord. Each and every one — and there are a lot because each aspect of our multi-dimensional, multi-faceted God has a title, name, and function. There is a marking of us when we accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour. A sealing of us, setting us apart for God. “Now he who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

When we are blessed by the name of God, according to the Word of God, aligned to the will of God; there is something special that happens. We are blessing what God wants us to bless, which means we are asking the Lord for what the Lord wants to give us. It’s like a parent who buys a gift. They come and stand before their child with the gift behind their back. Smiling, they call their child’s name and tell them to ask for _____. The child then asks ‘May I please have _____?’ And grinning, the parent pulls it out from behind themselves and presents it to the child. “This is the boldness which we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us. And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8). Our promise in the blessing of God is that He will in fact fulfill the blessing that He has pronounced over us (Romans 4:20-22).

Peace. This whole blessing is a blessing of peace. God’s peace. It has many dimensions. It requires submission and obedience, brokenness before the Lord as we admit we can do nothing without Him (John 15:4-5). It empowers us to work and thrive in what we do. It gives us boldness to approach the Father and make our requests — knowing that if we’re aligned with the Word we will get what we ask for because we are asking for what He wants to give us. It is a welcoming embrace from our God and Father. A joyful welcoming into the family as we run madly into the throne room of Grace crying out, ‘Daddy, we’re home!’ It is protection and a hedge around us as we walk His path. Stepping where He wants and when He wants. It is health and nurturing to our bodies and bones. It is protection against all in this life as we stay under the protection of His wings where there is comfort, healing, and strength. It is surety of where we are going and where we will be once this life is done and we can get on with the real business of the Kingdom wherever it takes us. It is revelation knowledge about the nature of existence with God. It is being able to smell the meadow of our forever pasture and smiling because it is so sweet.

You know what the blessing isn’t? Fear. Ego. Anxiety. Depression. Sickness. Weakness. Poverty. Lack. Because the blessing isn’t about us. It isn’t about our feelings. It isn’t about our world. It isn’t about our physical condition. It isn’t about our thoughts, dreams, or mental state. The blessing is about Yahweh God. The blessing is about the Lord Jesus the Anointed One. The blessing is about the Holy Spirit of Truth and Righteousness. The blessing is about who we are in Him. Who we can be in Him. The blessing is about what He can do for us. What He can do in us. What He can do through us. The blessing is all about the Lord, not about us. We are the beneficiary, but He is the guarantor. We are the harvest, He is the seed and the reaping.

God is love. Prefect love. Fear cannot coexist with perfect love (1 John 4:18). We can choose to not be afraid. Not be dismayed. Not be troubled. Not be anxious. We can choose to abide in Emmanuel. We can choose the Lord’s peace. We can accept and pronounce on each other the blessing of the Lord. The blessing which is our wonderful down payment on the infinite, unbroken, and undisturbed perfect existence we enjoy now and forever as children of ever-loving, always merciful, Yahweh God Almighty three-in-one, Father, Spirit, Son. Bless His Holy Name. Amen.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Isaiah 41:10-13

You know what doesn’t exist? The world would say such joke answers as ‘an honest politician!’ but that isn’t true. Many things don’t exist. Dragons. Leprechauns. Ogopogo. That is the promise of your Loving Heavenly Father. That He will be there for you. That He will fight for you. That your enemies will be like that which doesn’t exist. You may know the name, you may think you know what they look like, but if you seek them you’ll find nothing. Because they don’t exist. While this can apply to humanity around us, remember the reminder Paul gives us in Ephesians: “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (6:12). Our enemies exist in places we cannot get to. We can’t see them. We can’t get to them. But the Lord tells us that He will help us. Uphold us. That if we covenant with Him and stick to our side of the bargain, He will uphold His. We will walk His path and He will protect our steps. Better than a personal bodyguard. Better than a friend. Better than anything we can imagine. He is our partner, Father, and friend all in one. Our bodyguard, teacher, and Lord. He is faithful, loyal, and full of loving kindness. Why be afraid? He WILL help us.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.