Today the Holy Spirit is drawing our attention to this subject matter that serves as the catalyst for our emergence and subsequent journey in leadership.  So, why is blessing so important for the leader? Who is a blessed leader? How does a leader get blessed and then become a blessing to others? We will find the answers to all these questions as we engage the Spirit behind the letters of this article.

 

The purpose and intention of God for every man, is that the man is a blessing and he becomes a blessing to others. When you look through the book of Genesis 1:28, The Scripture made us to understand that blessings were the first gift of God to man. The preceding verses described the fact that God had an intention to create man, which He did, and then God blessed them. A lot of us have this understanding that blessings can only come in from of money, but that is not true. We have also come to think that until we have money we cannot succeed, which is also not true in most cases. As a matter of fact, money without God’s blessings is tantamount to failure. I want us to see what God told Abraham in Genesis 12:2. It says “I will make you a great nation.” And the reason why that is going to be possible is because; “I will bless you and make your name great” and when that happens; “you shall be a blessing.” For Abraham, the blessing of God upon his life was global influence, God simply said there is something I will do to your name and by so doing you will also become a blessing.

 

The end product, or the end result or one of the aims and objectives of leadership, is that followers are blessed. When you are a leader and you lack the capacity to bless in one way or the other, then you are simply showing your lack of capacity to lead. Inherent in every man is an ability and the aim of that ability is that such a leader become a blessing. God simply gave Jesus a name that was above every other name, that is the height of blessings. God didn’t give Him silver and gold, so also was the case with Abraham in the Scripture we just read. God begins the journey of every leader with a blessing, and without it, the success of such a leader will never materialize. And I want us to consider this as we go on in our leadership journey. Much more than anything you wish for, seek for the blessing, for the blessing. Don’t lead without the blessing, don’t do that ministry without the blessing, don’t go into that marriage without the blessing, don’t begin that great wish or desire you have without the blessing.

 

The Scripture says Paul plants, Apollos waters and God gives the increase. What does that mean? It means that man may labor, and do the needful, but without the blessings of God, all the efforts would be a waste. Apostle Paul was simply teaching us an order that has been set. In the kingdom we don’t rely on water to give us increase, we rely on God. water may be your effort; it may help you grow; but fruitfulness in the kingdom is the sole responsibility of God.

 

I want us to see a brief conversation that happened between Pharaoh and Jacob and the Lessons the Holy Spirit would have us learn from it. Genesis chapter 47:7, the Scripture says; then Joseph brought in His father and set him before pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.  I want us to talk briefly on the text beginning with the concluding words of that statement. It says “and Jacob blessed pharaoh” Before we continue, we have been mentioning the word blessing, what does it mean? Blessing could be defined as a prayer, or a pronouncement invoking divine or supernatural aid or reward on either a person or a people. And the reverse of this statement is a curse. Blessings or curse can be made now but its impact is for a life time and for generations to come. I want us to bear that in mind as we proceed.

 

So, from this definition, Jacob by the virtue of his prayer and pronouncement, invoked supernatural or divine aid or reward on pharaoh. I am sure we all know the personality called pharaoh? A Pharaoh is the Supreme ruler or the king of ancient Egypt, or a formal address given to one who occupies the sovereign seat of power in ancient Egypt. Why did I take my time to explain this to us? Before you can command any blessing on the earth realm, there is someone you must become by the virtue of who you are or by the virtue of the process you have gone through.

 

Note that words are spirits, there must be somewhere you stand in the realm of the spirit to command the words that only spirits can deliver. This talks about spiritual authority. This is the law the seven sons of skiver did not understand. They wanted to do what Apostle Paul was doing not knowing that Paul is recognized in the realm of the spirit, Paul was blessed and commissioned for the work. What am I trying to say, if you are not blessed, you cannot be a blessing? And the reason why people are blessed is so that they can be a blessing. You may say Jacob was an ordinary Shephard with twelve sons and few grand-children, a man that had to leave his home country in order to survive, what qualifies him to bless Pharaoh the king.

 

Jacob came with a mindset, he had a different mindset, he perceived and saw blessings differently from the way Pharaoh perceived it. And this is why a lot of leaders, despite being blessed, find it difficult to bless. Reason being that we feel we are not qualified to do that. Jacob blessed Pharaoh; kingship or power notwithstanding. A man can have power but lack the blessing, a man can be a king but is devoid of blessing, a man can struggle and toil all day but without the blessing of God on that man, all his effort will be a waste. Now this is a secret and a path to true success in life and in leadership. The reason why the prodigal son in the parable of Jesus did not succeed was not because he was not intelligent, his major problem was lack of blessing. He informed the father, but didn’t get the consent of the father, meaning that he didn’t get the blessing of the father. This is why sons must be careful, the blessings of a father confer inheritance, the curse of a father withdraws inheritance.

 

Remember from the initial definition of blessing, we realized that blessing is a prayer, not just any kind of prayer, it’s a prayer that moves or invokes the hand of God upon a man. And this is what separates blessing from curse. Any prayer that is done with the intention of moving the hand of God in favor of a person is called blessing and if it is done to stir the hand of God away from a person it’s a curse. When the Bible say Jesus was slain to receive blessings, what does it mean? It simply means He now has the power and authority to withdraw or send the presence of God to men which we could also call the Holy Spirit. That was the reason why He said to His disciples lo I am with you to the end of the age. That was the blessing, that was the assurance.

 

Going back to our text, verse 8 “Pharaoh said to Jacob how old are you?” This question may seem to be like he was referring to his chronological age, but it was much more than that. He was simply saying; What qualifies you, on what confidence or assurance do you bless me? But Jacob knew that it is not just enough to be a king or a ruler. Pharaoh may be rich but sorrowful, he may live long and his days are full of evil, struggles and sleepless nights etc. Jacob knew that Pharaoh is only king with subjects and slaves but Jacob knew he has a generation of kings, a holy nation, and Gods own special people. And this is what makes the difference between a blessed man and a man who is not. If you are blessed, it will reflect on your offspring and descendants, if you are not blessed it reflects on your posterity. It’s a trend and a flow.

 

Going to verse 9, the Scripture says; And Jacob said to pharaoh the days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; let me pause a little. Now Pharaoh asked Jacob a question that seems like a normal question, what makes you think you can bless me? What do you have that you are blessing me with? And the reply of Jacob was amazing he said; what I am blessing you with its not servants, its power, its not even money I give you longevity of life. I have lived for one hundred and thirty years, see what the other part of the verse say; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life” he was blessed indeed. What did he mean by that statement? For those years I have lived, evil have not befallen me, even if it has its only for a few days or for a short while. This is one of the things that qualifies me to bless you. I did not just live long, I did not just live a purposeless life and wasted years, I had encounters with the God of my fathers, I also enjoyed my days because God was watching over me. Now Jacob still continued, explaining further to Pharaoh. See what he said; and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” He was simply saying it was a generational blessing, what you see now was not even compared to what my fathers enjoyed, and this explains the fact that if you suffer the same thing your father suffered then it is an indication that something is missing or there is an error somewhere that needs to be corrected. You need to disassociate yourself from that lineage and connect to the lineage of Christ.

 

By this Pharaoh didn’t have option but to receive the blessing. So, verse 10 repeated what happened in verse 9, showing us that Pharaoh was in doubt, but this time, he accepted the blessing without questioning the one who is blessing. Why did we have to go through all these? The point is this; there is one who must bless you, you don’t just jump in and out of things thinking you are making progress, no! you must receive the blessing in order for life to be well with you. Because struggles and lack of rest is an indication that there is a particular blessing that is lacking in your life. I pray that as you sit back to reflect how life has been for you so far, the Lord will show you the way out in Jesus name.  Remember you must be blessed before you can bless others, and blessings don’t jump on people, blessings flow from fathers. So, do you have a father? Have you been blessed? Whatever it takes you must get the blessings, because it is not about how far you will go or have gone, it is about how well you have gone and how well you will go.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!