“May the LORD be with you… 

1 Sam. 20:13

What exactly is a blessing? It must be more than good wishes or hope for good luck. To me, blessings feel more like a prayer asking God to walk with, abide with or accompany someone on a journey. Discovering the variety of blessings in Scripture warmed my soul and gave me a hunger to know more about them.

Jonathan, King Saul’s son, blessed David with words that harken back to a blessing found in the book of Ruth. Ruth’s soon-to-be-husband, Boaz, blessed his workers in the field, with “May the LORD be with you.” Jonathan offers this same blessing when he sends David into hiding from his father, “May the LORD be with you… (1 Sam. 20:13). Imagine Jonathan’s deep concern for David’s safety and well-being and the inherent dangers in hiding from a king and a king’s army! I imagine those comforting words rang in David’s ears as he hastily departed.

Many years later, we see David reciting the same blessing. He encouraged his son, Solomon, when he charged him to build the temple: “Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would (1 Ch. 22:11-13).

Aren’t those the very words we want to shout as college-bound kids drive away or a carful of grandchildren and their parents back out of the driveway? I want to shout, “May the Lord be with you” as they leave to navigate the highways, school hallways and business challenges in the days ahead. 

Thankfully, I can bring the Lord’s blessings into their lives through my prayers and intercessions through Jesus, our High Priest, and through the Holy Spirit, our Intercessor. We now have what Boaz, Jonathan and David longed for by faith—direct access to and the on-going presence of the Lord. 

What a joyful thought! Those blessings of the Old Testament are now our reality. The Lord truly is “with us.”

Linda Les