Blessings | His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich

Need A Blessing?

June 11, 2025 2 comments

When a stranger suddenly sneezed when I was standing in front of her in the check out line at a grocery store, I responded by saying, “Bless you.”

She nodded and said, “Thank you. I needed a blessing.”

Her response amused me, and as I thought about this encounter later in the day, I was curious why we say, “God bless you,” or “Bless you,” when a person sneezes.

Naturally, that led me to do a little research on it, and I discovered this practice started during the Bubonic Plaque in Europe when sneezing was seen as a symptom of the disease. Saying, “God bless you,” was a way of asking God’s protection from the disease.

As believers in Christ, we don’t have to wait for a stranger to ask God’s blessings on us after a sneeze.

We can ask God to bless us at any time, at any place, and under any circumstance.

Matthew 7:7 tells us to “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”

An Old Testament character named Jabez asked for God’s blessing in this way: “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.

Before asking for God’s blessing, think of all the ways He’s already blessed you—salvation, family, career, shelter, health—and then be specific in the way you want Him to bless you now.

In asking for anything from the Lord, the Bible admonishes us to examine our motivation for asking—is it in keeping with God’s will for our life and the holy life he expects us to live as His children? How do we intend to use God’s blessing—for ourselves or for others?

One of the prayers of the Apostle Paul is a good guide to follow: “God, bless me abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that I need, I will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8.

My blessing for you today is this: “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.

Categories: Blessings, Devotionals, God's Control, God's Presence, God's Word, Grace, Trust Tags: Bless Others, Blessings, Faith, God's love, Praise, Trust God

What’s Your Name?

April 22, 2019 2 comments

Hello my name is Deciding what to name a child can be challenging. While I’ve passed the stage of naming babies, today, I’m faced with what to name a character in a book. That too can prove challenging.

When a character enters a scene, the person’s name usually pops in my head at the same time. However, before accepting this moniker as the appropriate tag for the person, I do a little research just to make sure it isn’t the name of a celebrity or a politician or some other famous person.

I also want a villain’s name to sound . . . well . . . villainous, and a strong character to have a strong sounding name. Think “Rocky” and you get the picture.

The Bible is full of great names for both babies and characters. These are names that have been around for thousands of years, and have quite literally stood the test of time. But, there are many “one time use” names in the Bible as well.

For instance, in the book of Hosea, God instructs a prophet to name his daughter “No Mercy” (Hosea 1:6). The son who came later was named “Not My People” (Hosea 1:9). Their Hebrew names Lo-ruhama and Lo-ammi never quite caught on as popular names for offspring, but those names portrayed the message God was endeavoring to send His people at that time.

In the book of Ruth, a widow named Naomi, who had lost two sons, decided she wanted to be called Bitter. She wanted this name change because she said, “the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20).

If you wanted a name to reflect how God has dealt with you, what would you call yourself?

I would call myself Blessed. I pray it would be your name as well. We are all Blessed.

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.”
Psalm 146:5