100 Days Of Favor (30 page)

Today’s Prayer

Father, thank You for all the blessings of provision, health, strength and renewal of youth which I can experience because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross. Today, as I look to You and wait upon You, renew my youth and strength, so that I may mount up with wings like eagles. I want to run and not be weary, walk and not faint. Grant me good health all the days of my life. I want to glorify You in my body, enjoy all that You have blessed me with and be able to fulfill all Your plans and purposes for me!

Today’s Thought

What God did for Abraham and Sarah—renewal of youth—God can do for me too!

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 69

Nearness To God And Protection In The Beloved

Today’s Scripture

You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children,your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine. —Genesis 45:10–11

I
N THE
O
LD
Testament story of Joseph, after Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he tells them to return to their father and to tell him, “…come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of
Goshen,
and you shall be
near to me,
you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have.” (Genesis 45:9–10) The name “Goshen” means “drawing near.”
¹
God wants you to be in “Goshen,” which is a place of nearness to Him, and there is no place nearer to Him than being in the Beloved. God’s heart of love is not satisfied with just removing your sins from you. No, He wants more. He wants you in His presence. He wants you in the place where He can lavish the bountiful love in His heart on you!

Remember that as God’s beloved child, you are in the world, but not of the world.

When you draw near to Jesus, look what happens. Joseph tells his brothers to also tell their father, “
There I will provide for you,
lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.” When you draw near to your heavenly Joseph, He will provide for you and your little ones. In the midst of financial famine in the world, in the midst of rising fuel and food costs, do not despair. Draw near to Jesus, for there in “Goshen,” in that place of nearness, He will provide for you and your household. Your God shall supply ALL your needs according to HIS riches (not according to your bank account balance or to the world’s economic situation) in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)!

That’s not all, my friend. Another blessing that you can enjoy when you are in the Beloved is divine protection. In recent years, new strains of deadly viruses have been making headlines. But whatever the virus may be, whether it’s the bird flu or swine flu or some other new plague, you can safely claim Psalm 91 for yourself. You can declare, “A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand; but it shall
not
come near me, God’s beloved!” (Psalm 91:7).

When there were plagues and pestilences all over Egypt because Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go, look at what God said about the children of Israel: “…I will
set apart
the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will
make a difference
between My people and your people…” (Exodus 8:22–23). There is a difference between God’s beloved people and the people of the world. Although Egypt was plagued by swarms of flies and other pestilences, the children of Israel were safe in the land of Goshen, completely untouched by the troubles!

So even if there are bad things happening in the world today, remember that as God’s beloved child, you are
in
the world, but not
of
the world (John 17:11, 16). No plague, no evil and no danger can come close to you and your dwelling place because you are safe in the secret place of the Most High. As the children of Israel were kept safe and protected in Goshen, so will you and I, whom God calls His beloved!

Today’s Prayer

Father, I thank You that You protect, deliver and provide for my family and me because I am in Christ Your Beloved. I thank You for Jesus and Your unmerited favor, and for making a difference between Your people and the people of the world. Today, as I go about my activities, I will fear no evil because I am Your beloved child enjoying divine protection and provision!

Today’s Thought

I am different from the people of the world—I have a God who looks after me!

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 70

Fear Robs You Of Your Inheritance In Christ

Today’s Scripture

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. —Isaiah 41:10

L
ET
’
S LOOK AT
Joshua 1, which records a critical point in Israel’s history, to see what we can learn about having the “good success” that God promised Joshua. Joshua was appointed as the new leader of Israel after Moses died and he was to bring God’s people into the Promised Land. This was a mammoth responsibility. Forty years before that, the children of Israel were on the brink of entering the Promised Land. But because they had refused to believe God’s promises to them, that generation spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness.

We do not have to strive and strain to be blessed. Good success for us today is enjoying the fruits and labor of Another—Jesus Christ.

That was not God’s will for them. God wanted to bring them into a land that was
flowing
with milk and honey. He wanted to give them a land filled with large and beautiful cities they did not build, houses full of good things they did not fill, hewn-out wells they did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees they did not plant (Deuteronomy 6:10–11). In other words, He wanted them to enjoy the fruits and labor of another—the giants who were in the land.

Beloved,
that
is good success. That’s the kind of success where you enjoy abundance of provision in every area of your life. That kind of success that is characterized by rest because today, the Bible says that our promised land is God’s rest (Hebrews 3:11). We are enjoying the fruits and labor of Another—Jesus Christ. And that’s the kind of success Christ has given us today. We do not have to strive and strain to be blessed.

What caused the entire generation to be robbed of their promised inheritance? To answer this question, we need to ask another: Who were the leaders over that generation? The Lord showed me that Moses had followed his father-in-law’s advice to appoint “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness” (Exodus 18:21) as his leaders to help him rule over the children of Israel.

The 12 spies who were sent to spy on Canaan must have been picked from this pool of leaders. This means that they were all able men who
feared God,
men of truth, hating covetousness. [By the way, when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He said, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall
worship
the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matthew 4:10). Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13, which actually reads, “You shall
fear
the Lord your God and serve Him…” Jesus substituted the word “fear” with the word “worship.” So according to Jesus,
to fear God is to worship God.]
But despite having all these leadership attributes,
none
of these spies or leaders whom Moses appointed entered the Promised Land apart from Joshua and Caleb. None! Why was this so?

The answer is this: They lacked courage! We can read an account of this story in Numbers 13:17–14:9. Moses sent 12 spies into the Promised Land. Only Joshua and Caleb came back with a good report of the land, saying, “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them” (Numbers 14:7–9). The other 10 spies gave a bad report, saying, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we…all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants…and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:31–33).

They all saw the same land, the same giants, but what a stark contrast in the reports that they brought back! Joshua and Caleb had a different spirit (a spirit of faith, Numbers 14:24) and focused on the promises and goodness of God. But the rest cowered in fear and saw only the giants and challenges in the land. They had good leadership qualities, but it was all negated because they were
fearful.
Fear paralyzed them! The nation of Israel could only go as far as their leaders could bring them. Because their leaders were fearful, the entire generation was robbed of God’s promises for their lives!

Today, no matter how dire your circumstances may appear, choose to focus on the goodness of God. Choose to see how Christ has paid the price for you to enjoy God’s unmerited favor, peace, protection and provision in every area of your life. Fear will not paralyze you. Instead, you will see His faithfulness and walk in all His blessings!