Day 31

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying. 'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel.' Say to them: 'The Lord bless yo and keep; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift us His countenance upon you, and give you peace.' So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." Numbers 6:22-27
One final focus: the reason that God gave this blessing to the priests to speak over the people is found in verse 27. "Sp they shall put my name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." What I want to point out that is so powerful here is the language of covenant relationships. God's desire is that His name would be put upon His children! This is marriage language, the language of permanence and inclusion, and it awakens us to the fact that God has always desired that we become part of His family.
I love how the apostle Peter speaks of this in his first letter, chapter two, verse ten: "...[you] who once were not a people, but are now the people of God..." In our natural state, before we received the grace of God through the initiative of the Holy Spirit, we were "not a people": in other words, we had no identity, no name. But now, God has given us His name, He has included us in His family, and we are now the people of blessing, the recipients of God's covenant of mercy and blessing.
God has set His heart to bless you. You are loved beyond your capacity to comprehend it. My prayer for you is that you would fix your eyes upon Him, and invite the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the wonderful knowledge of the love of Christ for you as His bride.
Prayer: Thank You for loving me, Lord. My heart is stirred with longing and wonder as I meditate on Your love. Send Your Holy Spirit to me that I may know more and more of your love. And Lord, please come quickly, for I long to be with you forever. Amen
Day 31 devotional "Forerunner Meditations: Discovering the Father's heart" by Gary Wiens