Receive the blessing and pass it on
Friends of mine run a harvest protection business. I know this business very well, because when I farmed in the nineties, they helped me keep the vines and harvest healthy.
A while ago they merged with a big harvest protection company in the North and had a big event to announce this. They asked me to say something. What a privilege to speak God’s words at such a big event. Obviously, this tells the wonderful story of big businessmen who know what the source of their power is.
An even bigger privilege that evening was to speak the Lord’s blessing over them, their personnel, clients and even the business itself. To speak the Lord’s blessing over someone or something brings just as much power and gives you someone to hold onto.
I know that mergers like the above lead to many uncertainties. The fear of failure, in particular, increases your stress. No one can see into the future and although the sums add up and everybody is excited about the benefits, there is one small part nobody can be sure about. Then it is good to know that God is part of it and that you don’t have to do it alone.
That evening I said to everybody that I wished I could tell them that the future held no problems. But I can’t. On the contrary. Tall trees catch the most wind. What I could and did say to them, was that they certainly had the inside track, because they weren’t alone – God was with them and would help and support them along the way. They only had to make sure that they stayed tuned to God’s station.
We’ve become used to Paul blessing the people to whom he was writing his letters and at the end of his letter to the Philippians he does so again: 23 Receive and experience the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, deep, deep within yourselves.
And so I bless you: May Jesus be very good to you and give you much, much more than you can dream. May you experience God’s goodness everywhere. May it become true in your life today and in the days ahead.
May you also bless your family, friends and colleagues. And don’t ever think you cannot do it because you make so many mistakes or don’t go to church enough. I want to encourage you to bless others. It will mean a lot to them.
Reflection
Who can you bless?
Prayer
Please be good to us, Jesus Christ, far more than we ever deserve. Please let us experience this goodness deep within. Amen.
