Que Dios te bendiga (May God bless you)
Hello Bride of Christ,
Are you struggling with expressing the joy you have bottled up inside you? Sometimes a smile or a laugh because of circumstances seems inappropriate. Other times circumstances seem to suppress our joy so much that we forget we have it or worse yet, we begin to question whether we have joy. Growing up I use to enjoy going to my grandmother’s house, and I also used to enjoy leaving her home because anyone either entering her presence or about to leave her known presence she would say, “Que Dios te bendiga,” (May God bless you) to which I would respond, “Bendecion” (I accept your blessing). In our Hispanic culture, my grandmother would pronounce blessing over you as you entered her home and as you left her home. As her guest, I would respond with acceptance of that blessing. Now, I don’t know about you, but this would without fail uplift my spirits to the point where I could not help but feel joyful. Also, it would cause my attention to become keener to realize God’s blessings in my life. Oh, how I miss my grandmother and her spoken blessings over me, but thankfully it was just an overflow of her relationship with the Lord, because did you know His word is filled with tons and tons of these benedictions?!?!
Where can I find some of these benedictions, you may ask? Here is a list of some to just reference a few:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58
“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13
“Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14
“Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” Galatians 6:18
“Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” Ephesians 6:23-24
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” Philemon 1:25
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:21
Bride of Christ, I pray these verses uplift your spirit this week and raises the joy of the Lord that resides within you as you go throughout your week. Might I challenge you to not only speak these verses aloud to yourself, but to all those that come into your presence this week? As they wash over you, I pray you will find enough courage to respond with a resounding “Bendicion”, acknowledging acceptance of these blessings from our sweet Lord, Jesus Christ.
