“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” ~Numbers 6:24-26

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” ~Numbers 6:24-26

My grandfather was a minister and he often used these verses as his benediction to close the service. Just reading them fills me with a longing for something I can’t quite grasp. It’s one part missing my Grandpa, another part a fond remembrance of my childhood church and still another of an ever-increasing intensity of anticipation for the coming of Jesus.

I've mentioned before that the Greek has one word to encompass that feeling - it’s apekdechomai. English translates as to ‘wait for eagerly’. BORING! I eagerly wait for dessert. But the meaning that the Greek stacks into this word is ‘ever-increasing anticipation and earnest expectation’ (picture a pup sitting for a piece of bacon). Excitement like an electric current running through your body, hair standing on end, feelings bubbling up inside so that you can hardly contain it. THAT is how we are waiting for Jesus to come again!

Until then, The Lord blesses us and makes His face shine on us - that’s the ancient way of saying, “He approves!” He is continually gracious and merciful. Let us be flooded with His peace!

Shalom!

Written by: Bonnie Chovanec, 2026