Why do you want God to bless you?  What does “blessed” really mean?  Why do you desire His favor?  What will you do with the grace He gives you?  Psalm 67 is a psalm of blessing.  Verse one references Numbers 6:24-26, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us.”  Some desire to be blessed for selfish reasons to spend it all on themselves.  Some sadly mistake blessing to only mean material earthly resources.  The phrase “bless us” in Psalm 67:1 does not have a period at the end because blessings from the Lord are not meant to start and stop with us.  We are to be vessels that carry the blessings of the Lord to others, “So that Your ways may be known on the earth and your salvation among the nations” (v. 2).  Did you catch that?  God blesses so we can be a blessing and the greatest blessing is that of salvation.  The grace the psalmist asks for is for others all over the world to be saved so that they too would praise the Lord (vv. 3, 5), sing for joy (v. 4), and fear Him (v. 7).  We should desire the grace of God in our lives so we can extend it to others.  Those who have experienced God’s grace should want others to experience it as well.  Salvation is not meant for just knowing God privately but also for making Him known publicly.  

Who do you know that needs the blessing of salvation that only comes through God’s grace?  Compassion is rooted in wanting others to share in the same things that bring you fulfillment.  An example of this would be wanting others who are starving to have food because you like having a full belly.  It is wanting others to have a family and perhaps adopting because you also enjoy family.  Compassion is the Golden Rule of “doing unto others as you would want them to do to you” (Matthew 7:12).  Compassion says that because I know the blessings of food, water, shelter, love, and eternal salvation, I want others to experience them.  We must have compassion for eternal souls to experience God’s saving grace.  Souls are eternal, but eternity has two realms – heaven and hell.  I once heard someone say, “Not everyone who dies goes to a better place. Only those who have trusted in Jesus do.”  Psalm 67 asks God for His blessed grace and favor to take God’s blessed grace and favor to others around the entire world.  This is the heart of compassionate evangelism of the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  Because He saved us, we want others to be saved!

Psalm 67 mentions blessing “us” twice at the beginning and end (vv. 1, 7).  However, do not mistake this for selfishness.  The psalmist knew he was not the beginning and the end of anything.  God is the Alpha and the Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet).  This name for God describes His infinite presence and power (Revelation 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, and 22:13). The psalmist also mentioned the word “peoples” in every other verse (vv. 2-6).  He asked to be blessed “so that” (vv. 2, 7a) other people groups and nations to “all the ends of the earth will fear Him” (v. 7b).  Our intention of asking God for blessing should be to bless others!  We are blessed to be a blessing, and the greatest blessing we can pass on to someone else is the Good News of Jesus’ saving grace!

Questions: 

1. Do you desire to be blessed so you can extend God’s blessing to others?
2. When you think of blessings of the Lord, do you think more of temporary or eternal things?
3. With what other people groups around you could you share the Gospel?  (There are over 130 people groups in Arkansas!)

Prayer:

Lord, bless me so I can bless others.  May I recognize the blessings You have already granted to me, especially salvation, and extend Your Good News of salvation to others.  Help me see all people groups in the world around me as those you desire to be saved.  Help me share the Gospel with someone today out of compassion for the lost.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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stephenrharrison

Stephen and his wife Haley have called Arkansas home all of their lives. Stephen has served in several ministry roles over the last 25 years and as a lead pastor for the last 8 years. Stephen attended Williams Baptist College and earned a BA in Biblical Studies from Ouachita Baptist University, an MA, MDiv, and DMin in Christian Leadership and Pastoral Ministries from Liberty University. When not pastoring, Stephen enjoys running, cycling, reading, writing, camping, fishing, and spending time with his family.