Bless This Mess

I have a coworker who hates when people utter “God Bless You” whenever they sneeze. Yes. They used the “H” word. They would prefer people say nothing at all. I, however, will take all the blessings of God, even when I’m not sneezing. Thank you very much!

The word bless is used so casually these days that I feel many people use it without thinking or even knowing what it means. God bless. Have a blessed day. Bless you. #Blessed. When I encounter words where I fear I’ve been using it in the same casual manner as others, without fully having an understanding of its meaning, it’s the perfect opportunity for me to head to ground zero and build up my understanding.

I looked up the word Bless and it simply says Ask God to look favorably on. Blessing has the same meaning, as it is in action form. So a blessing  is in process. When I look back at biblical examples in the Old Testament, blessings at that time were crucial for inheritance. The most notable being God’s blessing over Abraham. There were others: Abraham blessed Isaac. Isaac blessed Jacob. Jacob blessed his sons. Etc. With the example of Jacob and Esau, it’s easy to see just how important such a blessing was during that time.

In the modern age, the word has taken on such a blanket meaning. Which is exactly what led me to do some deep soul-searching thinking about what the word means and how I see it in my every day life. I found myself wondering exactly what it means to be a blessing. What does it mean to be blessed? What does it mean to receive a blessing? What does it mean to bless your food? Why do we always pray that God bless us? What do we mean? I wasn’t kidding when I said it has become a blanket term. These and many other questions settled on my mind when I began to think about the meaning of the word Bless. 

Bless the food

So for example, let’s look at “Bless the food”. This is used synonymously with “say grace”. Of course when used, we are often looking at a plate of food. We say a little prayer followed by an amen and all is good. We can chow down. Realistically, “blessing your food” or “saying grace” are expressions of gratitude to God for provision and asking to protect the meal/food as it provides us nourishment. It should be a prayer of acknowledgement, while also asking God to continually “bless” you with provision. So in this sense, “bless the food” means to say a prayer.

Another way to look at a blessing is to desire, seek, or request God’s favor. If I’m looking for anyone’s favor, then I want to be on their good side. I want them to speak well of me, and even talk me up, to others. It means that person is likely proud of you and willing to continue granting you whatever support you need in order to be successful. That’s us. Requesting and desiring God’s favor is even more phenomenal because it goes a lot deeper than those surface expressions I just mentioned. 

A peer or supervisor may tap out at some point. Or shift their support to someone else if they feel they gave you “enough”. There is a measure of freedom in having a continuous supply of exactly what you need. You never have to worry about if you have enough or if it’s going to bail at the last second. That’s not God. Instead, we can have confidence that the favor God has toward his children is continuous. So whether we are looking at a blessing as provision, protection, grace, mercy, or anything else, we can be sure that God knows exactly what we are in need of. That in itself is a blessing. It’s the freedom from fear, worry, and anxiety. The ability to live a peaceable life because you are in God’s care. Blessed.

Because the word has so  many different meanings, there is no one size fits all definition. It can mean to speak well of others. It can mean to look favorably on others. It can mean prayer request and so many other things. Bible verse James 3:10 reveals that our mouths are capable of releasing both blessings and curses. Our goal should be to speak favorably about and over our fellow brethren, rather than to curse them. The same goes for ourselves. We should be mindful of our words so that we aren’t walking or operating in any negativity that we’ve labeled ourselves with.

Likewise, when we are praying and asking God to bless us, we are looking for his favor. In whatever manner it is given. This is the same favor we should desire to see in the lives of those around us. So rather than casually throw out words, become more intentional in your prayer time. Get specific when you are talking to God and even ask him to help you pray what he desires for you to pray.

Truly, stay blessed!

Stay Sunny!

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