Transmitting God’s Favor

Oftentimes, great things in life unfold in a series of defining moments—those pivotal times when things shift. It could be when someone decides to leave a job to pursue a dream. Maybe it’s a run-in with a stranger that later becomes a spouse. Or sometimes, when you least expect it, God may appear in a dark season of life in powerful and unexpected ways. These defining moments can alter the course of someone’s life for the better. But a defining moment isn’t always a big event; sometimes, all it takes is hearing the words “God bless you” in the middle of an ordinary day.

This kind of blessing runs deeper than our social media photo ops with the hashtag #blessed, where we show off achieving a dream, vacationing at a cool spot, or making it as an influencer. While these moments are certainly worth celebrating, they don’t fully capture what “blessed” truly means. In the Bible, blessings were significant. The Hebrew word for blessing is barakah, which is translated as “a transmittal of God’s favor.” It was more than just receiving gifts; it signified that God bestowed his qualities on someone and affirmed his divine purpose for their life.

Being blessed in God’s name meant there was an exchange of all the benefits of God’s name onto a person. Being blessed by God had a deep and profound impact. This is why Jacob wrestled all night with an angel to receive his blessing; he understood the significance of being affirmed by God. Being blessed is about receiving favor from the Creator, not about acquiring created things. From this perspective, the blessing of others, even in the simple greeting of a spoken blessing, takes on a whole new significance.

There are many ways to bless others, but we should never underestimate the power of a simple spoken word: “May God bless you.” Such a blessing can redirect the course of a person’s life. In speaking it, we affirm their worth and invite the fullness of God’s name and favor to rest upon them. A few simple words can change everything. There is real power in a blessing.

Sadly, many people live not knowing they are worthy of a blessing; they don’t believe they deserve to be blessed. They live with shame, condemnation, regret, low self-esteem or other critical thoughts and feelings that diminish their worth. These conclusions couldn’t be further from God’s perspective. In Psalm 31:7, it states, “I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.” Regardless of what we think or feel, God desires to give us his blessings because of his great love.

Is there someone in your life who may struggle with the idea that they aren’t good enough to deserve God’s blessing? Perhaps today they need a special reminder that God loves them and, in fact, desires to bless them, regardless of what they have done in the past or are doing in the present. Sometimes, all it takes to change someone’s life is for someone else to notice them and speak God’s favor into their life with the words, “God bless you!” This could be the defining moment that changes their day, week or month. Let’s affirm God’s favor on more people. In doing so, we will experience what it truly means to be blessed!