Unmerited Favor (6 page)

Just put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. What is happening here? It sounds all too familiar, doesn’t it? With the painful memory of his brothers casting him into the pit still fresh in his mind, here he is once again, cast into a dungeon even though he had not done anything wrong. Any average person would be bitter and angry with God! Most people would ask, “Where is God? Why had God brought him this far, only to abandon and forsake him? How could this happen? Where is the justice against this false accusation?”

But Joseph was literally no “average Joe”! He knew that the Lord would never leave him nor forsake him. Joseph considered not his circumstances, but kept his focus on the presence of the Lord. Regardless of whether he was a common slave, an overseer in Potiphar’s house or now a prisoner facing the prospect of life imprisonment for a crime he did not even commit, Joseph did not evaluate God’s unmerited favor in his life based on his circumstances. Instead of getting bitter, he kept his hope in the Lord. Instead of throwing in the towel and giving up on God and on life, he kept his confidence, knowing that all his success was wrapped up in the presence of the Lord.

And boy, did the Lord deliver him! I want you to read this for yourself to see what the Lord did for Joseph:

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

—Genesis 39:21–23

When You Have God’s Unmerited Favor, You Cannot Help But Prosper

When the unmerited favor of God is upon you wherever you are, like it was upon Joseph, (1) you cannot help but find favor, (2) everything that you do cannot help but prosper, and (3) you cannot help but experience increase and promotion beyond your wildest imagination.

Can you see that this was the consistent pattern in Joseph’s life? It didn’t matter if he was a slave or prisoner. The same applies to you. When the unmerited favor of God is upon you, you are like a rubber ball in a pool of water. Natural circumstances can try to push you down and keep you suppressed under water, but the unmerited favor of God will always cause you to POP right up to the top!

Don’t be discouraged by your current circumstances. I know things may sometimes appear bleak, dismal and perhaps, even devastating, but it ain’t over, my friend. I wrote this book to tell you that it ain’t over! I don’t believe for one moment that among the millions of books in publication right now, you are holding this particular one by chance or coincidence. This is a divine appointment and I believe that God is saying this to you: “Don’t give up. It ain’t over!”

There are many times where the lowest points in your life are actually the launching pads to God’s greatest promotion in your life. It was so for Joseph! Let’s rewind the tape and observe the fingerprints of the Lord through the ups and downs of Joseph’s life. If Joseph had not been betrayed by his brothers, he would not have been sold as a slave. If he had not been sold as a slave, he would not have been in Potiphar’s house. If he was not in Potiphar’s house, he would not have been thrown into an Egyptian prison meant specifically for the king’s prisoners. If he was not in that specific prison, he would not have interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s officers. If he had not interpreted their dreams, he would not have been summoned to interpret Pharaoh’s dream two years later. If he had not interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, Pharaoh would not have promoted Joseph to become his prime minister over the entire Egyptian empire!

Your lowest points are launching pads to God’s greatest promotions.

This is what Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you...See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
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When we look back, it is clear that the Lord had turned Joseph’s darkest hour into his finest hour!

You have seen how God’s presence with Joseph and His unmerited favor caused Joseph to be promoted from the pit to the palace, from the dunghill to Capitol Hill, from the outhouse to the White House. Stop looking at your circumstances and stop allowing them to discourage you. The same Lord who was with Joseph is with you right now. You cannot fail! You can expect to see success beyond your present circumstances!

Chapter 5: Practicing The Presence Of Jesus

Let’s look at some practical keys on how you can begin to
experience
God’s manifested presence in your life by
practicing His presence
. It is one thing to know theoretically that God is with you, but to experience His presence, you have to increase your consciousness of His presence by practicing His presence!

This is not something difficult. In fact, it should be rather effortless. Do you know that even as you have been or are reading about Jesus right now, you have been and you are practicing the presence of Jesus? As you are reading about Jesus and discovering what He says in His Word about you, you have just become effortlessly more conscious of His presence with you right now.

And as you think of Jesus more and more, you will begin to experience a peace you never had, a strength like never before and a joy that you cannot describe with words. Wisdom starts to flow and your decision-making ability is sharpened. Just by being exposed to the presence of the Son of the living God, the breakthrough that you have been struggling for supernaturally occurs.

My friend, trees don’t strain and struggle to produce fruit. Instead, with adequate exposure to sunlight and water, fruits are produced effortlessly. Similarly, with adequate exposure to SON-light and the living water of God’s Word, good fruits are produced in your life effortlessly. Your victory is a fruit. Your success is a fruit. Your health is a fruit. Family harmony is a fruit. Career success is a fruit. All these good fruits are birthed just by you being in the presence of the Lord! Stress, depression, and anger fade away and no longer dominate your thoughts. Worry has no foothold in your mind. The consciousness of Jesus’ perfect love for you removes every vestige of trepidation and fear. You feel and start behaving like the new creation in Christ that you are, regardless of your current circumstances. Hallelujah!

God’s Presence Is With You To Make You A Success, Not Find Fault With You

Something very unique and precious happens when you see that the Lord is with you. Trust the Lord to open your eyes to see Him in your situation, and the more you see Him, the more He manifests Himself. If you are in the midst of committing to an important business agreement, I assure you that if you can see the Lord there with you, His wisdom will flow through you, and He will give you supernatural insight to locate any loopholes, details or exit clauses that are missing from that contract that you are about to sign.

Once you involve Jesus and acknowledge His presence, you will sense Him intervening in any decision you are about to make, through the absence or presence of His peace. Everything can appear to be in order on the surface, but somehow, if you sense a discomfort rising up in you every time you think about your decision, my advice to you would be to not rush into it. Once you have involved the Lord, the lack of peace that you feel is often His leading to protect you. You can even be in the midst of an argument with your spouse, but the moment you become conscious of the Lord’s presence, your words will change. Somehow, there will be a supernatural restraint that you know is not from yourself. That is also the Lord!

God’s presence is with you to direct you, to guide you, to lead you into becoming more like Christ, and to make you a success in every endeavor you undertake.

Before we continue, I just have to say this: It is important for you to eradicate the notion that the Lord is present to
find fault
with you. You may have been raised in an environment where your parents were constantly picking on your faults and pointing out your mistakes, but don’t project this characteristic onto the Lord. God knows every idiosyncrasy about you, yet He loves you perfectly because He sees you through the lens of the cross, where His Son has removed
every
failing from your life!

So even your current argument with your spouse is washed by the blood of Jesus. The Lord’s presence is with you
not
to judge you or to smack you on the head with a giant bat the moment you fail. No, my friend, His presence is with you to direct you, guide you, lead you into becoming more like Christ, and make you a success in every endeavor you undertake.

No matter where you are, the Lord is with you. Even in the midst of your fears, while you are alone in your room, He is there with you. The moment you begin to be aware of His presence and cultivate His presence, all your fears, anxieties and worries will melt like butter on a hot day, or as the psalmist David puts it, “The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord...”
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You cannot psych yourself out of fear nor can you psych yourself out of worry. You can’t just tell yourself, “Come on, stop worrying. There is nothing to worry about.” It just doesn’t work. The debt will still be staring you in your face and your problems will still be as insurmountable as ever no matter how hard you try to psych yourself up. That is what the world is trying to do, but it does not work. It takes the presence of the Lord to keep you free from worry.

Jesus is not asking you to psych yourself up and live in a state of denial. No way! He is saying to you, “In the midst of your affliction, I am your shield. I am your defender. I am your fortress. I am your refuge. I am your supply. I am your healing. I am your provider. I am your peace. I am your joy. I am your wisdom. I am your strength. I am the glory and the lifter of your head!”
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Amen! He is not asking you to pretend that the facts are not there. He wants you to realize that HE IS THERE WITH YOU!

When you know that He is with you and for you, and you put your problems in His mighty hands, you will begin to get a more accurate evaluation of just how “big” your problems are. When they were in your hands, the weight and burden of your problems may have crushed you. But when you involve Jesus, the once-monumental problems become microscopic in His hands!

God’s Love For You Is Personal, Detailed And In-depth

Do you know why there are many believers today who don’t cast their cares upon the Lord? It is because they don’t have a revelation that He cares for them. Look at what His Word says: “casting all your care upon Him, for
He cares for you.
”
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Unless you have absolute confidence that Jesus cares for you, you will not cast your cares upon Him. Just think, would you call upon the help of a relative or friend in your time of need if you were not confident that the person would respond to your call? Jesus cares for you. When you call upon Him, know that you have His fullest attention with all of heaven’s resources backing you up!

Maybe you are thinking right now, “Well, I am sure that Jesus has more important things to do than to bother with my problem.” Hang on. By saying that, you have just shown that you don’t really believe that Jesus cares for you. Now, let’s see what the Bible says: “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
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I love and care for my sweet daughter, Jessica. But as much as I adore her and care for her well-being, I have never, not once, counted the number of strands of hair on her head! She does not know how great a blessing she has been to me. I love to kiss her, smell her hair and hug her tightly. Yet, in all my great love for her, I have never taken the time to count the number of strands of hair on her head in all these years!

But do you know that your heavenly Father numbers the very hairs on your head? I really hope that you are beginning to catch the heart of Jesus and not generalize His love for you. His love for you is all-encompassing. If He cares enough to keep track of the hairs on your head, is there anything too small for Him that you cannot talk to Him about?

God is vitally and intensely involved in the day-to-day minute details of your life.

God’s love for you is infinitely detailed. Jesus said that not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father’s will. Are you not of more value than a sparrow? Is God a God who winds the clock and leaves it alone to tick until Jesus comes back? Is He only involved with major events in the world? Is He only involved in significant events in our lives like our salvation, or is He vitally and intensely involved in the day-to-day minute details of your life? What do you think? The Bible says that He calls His own sheep by name.
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My friend, His love for you is personal, detailed and in-depth!

See Jesus In The Midst Of Everything That You Do

When you study your Bible knowing that the Lord is with you, you will be amazed at how God’s Word comes alive. That is how I read the Word. I don’t study just to prepare for messages to preach on Sundays. I come to the Word to drink of the living waters from Jesus. I am conscious that Jesus is by my side, teaching me, speaking to my heart, and I can tell you that we have the best conversations during these times and I always come away from such times feeling refreshed and energized.

Reading His Word has become a great personal time of intimacy between Jesus and me. I get completely lost and absorbed in His presence until I lose track of time. I can’t tell you the number of times when I had looked up at my clock after digging into His Word and realized that it was already five in the morning! You know what it’s like when you are enjoying a steaming cup of latte in a café with friends that you love, and you are having so much fun, laughing and sharing, that time just seems to disappear? Well, you can enjoy Jesus’ presence in the same way!

Once you are conscious that Jesus is with you, reading the Bible no longer feels like a chore or duty. You won’t catch yourself watching the clock going tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...and feeling as though an eternity has passed even though only five minutes has lapsed! That is what a chore feels like—as if time is standing still and you can’t wait to get it over with. Bible study divorced from His presence is a dead work. But when it is like catching up with your best friend, there never seems to be enough time!

So see the Lord in the midst of everything that you do and learn to bring Him into the picture. He makes everything beautiful in your life. When you look at your past, the scars of yesterday may still be throbbing in your memories. Perhaps you were sexually abused as a child or you were emotionally hurt by someone you trusted. As you look back now, you may still feel angry, frustrated and disappointed all at the same time, and the hurt still pierces your heart. But in the midst of your pain, I want to challenge you to start involving Jesus. See the Lord holding you, gently healing your wounds. Jesus is right there restoring you, putting courage into your heart and taking away all the sense of shame and guilt.

Beloved, He wants you to know that your past will not determine the future that He has for you. Once you involve the Lord and put Him into your bitter waters, He will turn the bitterness into sweetness. That is what the Lord did for the children of Israel. When they came to a place called Marah, they could not drink its waters because they were bitter. Moses cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a tree, which Moses cast into the waters. When he did that, the Bible says that “the waters were made sweet.”
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Your past will not determine the future that God has for you.

Why did the foul-tasting, undrinkable waters become refreshing and sweet? The answer lies in the tree that was cast in. The tree is a picture of the cross on which our Lord Jesus hung, bearing every broken heart and every sting of betrayal. When you bring Jesus into your situation, He can cause every bitter experience to become sweet! Talk to Him and allow His presence to restore you today!

When You Practice Jesus’ Presence, His Glory, Beauty And Power Will Rub Off On You

David is a wonderful example of someone who talked to the Lord and practiced His presence all the time. Even as a young teenager taking care of his father’s sheep in the fields, he would be singing psalms and hymns to the Lord and playing his harp.

In 1 Samuel 16, the Bible records that King Saul was very unsettled, and his servants told him that he was being troubled by a distressing spirit. They then advised him to bring David before him to play the harp for him, saying that evil spirits departed when David played the harp. One of the servants gave a glowing description of David as someone “...who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”
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Do you know why David could cause Saul to become refreshed just by playing his harp? Do you know why David could have such accolades heaped upon him? I believe that the key is in the last part of the verse: “the Lord is with him.”