A FATHER'S WEDDING BLESSING

Note: This is the blessing I shared on Sunday (2.12.12) with my daughter, Briana Rose Robinson, and her new husband, Joshua Mark Isenhour. (who happen to be in Maui on their honeymoon, but I'm not bitter!)

In Jewish culture, which plays a major role in the Bible, there is found a very significant practice: The BLESSING. In 2012 blessing is not much more than something we say to someone when they sneeze, or as a way to say goodbye, “God bless you.”

In the Jewish tradition a family gathers each Friday (Erev Shabbat) for a meal and a time for the father to pronounce a blessing over his wife and children. In addition to this weekly blessing, there are six other times in a child’s life when a blessing is given (conception; in the womb; birth; infancy, puberty), and the final blessing of this type is at the time of marriage. 

The main idea of “blessing” is: “to empower to prosper.” I’ll resist the temptation to put on my pastor-teacher hat, but I do believe it’s helpful to understand several things about the BLESSING: Based upon the Bible, God’s love letter to his children, we find BLESSING is: a God-given PRINCIPLE; it’s POWERFUL; it’s PERMANENT; it’s PROTECTED by God; and it’s based on God’s PROMISES.

It is my honor today to pronounce a blessing over Josh and Briana, on this their wedding day:

SPIRITUAL

May you be blessed in your love for God and continually grow in your grasp of the greatness of how wide, long, high and deep his love is for you! (Ephesians 3:18)

EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

May the peace (shalom) of God always guard your heart and mind from discouragement and disappointment which leads to a bitterness of soul.  (Philippians 4:7)

PHYSICAL HEALTH

May you always enjoy excellent physical health, as the Apostle John wrote, even as your soul is spiritually healthy. (3 John 1:2)

CHILDREN

In God’s timing, may you be blessed with children, and together form a family which reflects the fullness of God’s amazing love, while you experience the best of all that’s been created for us by a faithful God. (Psalm 127:1; Joshua 24:15)

FINANCIAL

May you experience the full favor of God in your personal finances, enabling you to be free of financial burdens; releasing you to live generously towards others. (Luke 6:38)

CAREER

May you always be blessed in your careers, knowing it is the Lord who promotes us and gives us the ability to produce wealth. (Psalm 75:6-7; James 4:10; Deuteronomy 8:18)

MARRIAGE

May you be blessed in your love for one another, discovering the uniqueness of your spouse, and accepting them as God’s perfect provision and the one who completes you. (Genesis 2:22; Proverbs 31) May the mystery of oneness unfold before you with a profound beauty and strength. (Ephesians 5:22-33) May the love you share and has been sealed by your vows, be unbreakable and unshakeable when the enemy of love tries to destroy the covenant of marriage which has been established today. (Isaiah 59:19; Matthew 19:6)

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)