By Lisa S. Tarno

I was mentally exhausted by some of the people in my life who would suck the life energy out of me if I let them. I approached my quiet time in God’s Word with reluctance because where I was studying, the book of Numbers, I doubted there would be anything refreshing or beyond academic information today. But God met me there!

I prayed and then opened my Bible to Numbers 6:22-26 which reads:

“May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.”

I read no further. I stopped and let the words splash their blessing over me like a cool mist from a waterfall on a hot day. I didn’t feel the need to study anything more but instead just be refreshed. I journaled in my notes that I could have cried. It was tender and yet telling that a passage in a seemingly banal book of the Bible, by my estimation, could actually feed my soul today. I was pleasantly surprised.

May the LORD bless you and protect you: This part in and of itself was more than enough for me. Yes I will accept His blessing and absolutely will I receive his protection. I have been praying about things going on in my world and all around me with fervor wondering in the wait how things would transpire. I felt the lyrics of a song we sing echo in my heart, “I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered…”

May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you: The wonder of actually making my Creator smile and be pleased with me is where I want to be. Combined with being lavished with His mercies and compassion all rolled up in one gracious hug, it is what my weary soul needed! Most of us don’t fully grasp all the wonderful characteristics of God. He is either….or. But I see Him as so much more than that. Today He showed up as my Abba Father with tenderness and compassion letting me rest on a few obscure words tucked in a not so popular book to read in the Bible.

May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace: In a world where we often look to the wrong places for approval, it’s God’s favor that I want the most! That’s one way to look at this passage and another is favor granted for the things I have been praying in earnest for. As I wait, He gives me His peace which is priceless. Peace that passes understanding when others would look at my life and wonder how could I be peaceful? He gives it! Peace that guards my heart and my mind when all the “what if’s” are vying for attention. Peace is another layer of protection and power that He offers me and I receive it wholeheartedly.

I pray this blessing over all the eyes that read this today. May it be unto you as well!