Numbers 6:24-26
“May The Lord bless you and keep you; May The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you May The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”
One of my all-time favorite trips I got to go on was to the Grand Canyon. I was attending Grand Canyon University at the time in Phoenix, AZ. It was a Friday night at like 5 o’clock and some of my friends decided, hey let’s go to the Grand Canyon, and let’s go like right now! I was down. We started the 7-hour road trip to the Grand Canyon and about 4 hours in, we decided to camp out in the woods of Flagstaff.
It was awesome since I had just got a sick new Eno Hammock, but what wasn’t sick was the fact that I didn’t come prepared with warm clothes. I had shorts, a crew neck, and a SnapBack #collegelyfe. I stinking froze to death that night. It got down to under 30 degrees, at about 3 am everyone was so cold that we said, yeah let’s get out of here and we continued to the Grand Canyon.
We got there just as the sun was beginning to rise over the crest of the canyon. It was beautiful, jawdropping, spectacular, it was a perfect ending to a moment I will never forget. That trip will always go down as one of my favorites. I loved it, and I have pictures, videos, and memories to always think back on it. I was thankful for that trip and the ending that I got to take back with me.
This verse (Numbers 6:24-26) used to be said at the end of every service that I attended growing up at church. It is called a benediction. We have benedictions at St. Andrews at the end of every service too. So why do we have a benediction, what is the purpose? Well, a benediction is more than just an ending it is a transition. It acts as a bridge that is connecting the end of the service to the beginning of life as you go out of the service. It takes the grace God gave during the service and lets it cross over into our lives as we leave the service. It’s the ending or more so is a transition that gives you some sticky to cling and remember what God lavishes upon you because you are his child, and it is something that you should never forget.
So here is a blessing benediction that I want to leave/transition with you, read it one more time and cling to these words as you transition back into your day.
“May The Lord bless you and keep you;
May The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
May The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”