The Blessing

I’m sure by now most of you are aware of The Blessing by Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes. This beautiful song went viral in a short period of time. It was such a prophetic and anointed one right before the global pandemic. Singers from all over the world adopted this song into their languages, cultures, and music arrangements. I have seen city mayors, influencers, and people at every level engaging with this music as their own. It would be neat to see the impact through detailed analytics.

I have been reflecting on this song and what I learn from it. The number of views is huge . . . not just in English but in all the languages shared on YouTube.

The original video has 18,665 comments. All these engagements are organic (I’m not sure if there was any paid advertising by the music owners). I even saw some comments from people sharing how they received Jesus Christ.

I continued scrolling the comment sections and couldn’t believe what I was reading. People are choosing joy over their suffering. Others are still asking for justice, healing, and even favor from God in a humble spirit. People are sharing their stories with the World.

There are 368K thumbs up… and 7.3K thumbs down. I ask myself, “Why did they give thumbs down for this music?” I’m sure some viewers have more questions for God and for us.

So what, Miheret?

Watching the video encouraged me, but left me with more questions. I was frustrated. This video could be a great opportunity for deeper spiritual conversations and for building online communities. How can we seize these opportunities? The people commenting on YouTube matter to God. Many may need a community where they could grow in their walk with Jesus Christ.

How Do We Seize Viral Opportunities for Christ?

Several social media links are under the video description, but no invitations. Did any of the 23+ million viewers need and find answers or community?

Of course, this global engagement is bigger than one church could handle. How do we help the body of Christ to win, build, and send Christ-centered multiplying disciples? Do we have tools and strategies for this kind of opportunity or do we need new ones?

I imagined more but will stop here. I pray every person touched by this music finds a community where they can impact their world for Jesus. May this even be true for those who are still angry with God.

May we be the ones who help. Let’s face the new world today to be relevant for tomorrow.

Guest Post by Miheret Tilahun Eshete

Miheret is  a digital strategist on the global digital strategies team of Cru. Originally from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he spent eight years in Ethiopia, leading 24 countries in Southern and Eastern Africa in digital strategies, before moving to Florida in May 2016. He has worked with leaders across the strategies of Cru to help them apply digital innovations to make their visions become reality. He is constantly learning and translating future possibilities into a missional context. Miheret has helped Cru take giant steps forward towards digital maturity. He has amazing stories of seeing God at work throughout his life and has a passion for prayer. Miheret is married to Stephanie who also serves in ministry.

Miheret is passionate about making Jesus known to all cultures and people groups in the world. He and his team help people around the world use digital tools like websites, video, mobile apps and more to help advance the gospel.

Continue this discussion with Miheret on Workplace, especially in the Global Digital Strategies Group.

NOTES from Sus:

• Judy Douglass posted about the blessing on her blog, Kindling. She writes about God’s intention to bless us and that we should be a blessing to others. Check it out.
  • See Judy’s partial list of the many language versions on her Pinterest board.
  • You might be interested in the Hebrew version.
• The photo of Waikiki across the top of the post is a screenshot from The Hawai’i Blessing video.
• The image in the post is from the New York City Blessing video.