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Lifetime of Favor
TODAY’S
SCRIPTURE
Sing the praises of the
Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a
moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime…
Psalm 30:4-5, NIV.
TODAY’S
WORD
Let this truth sink down
into your spirit today: God’s favor is not for a season; it’s for a lifetime.
How do we obtain God’s favor? Proverbs three tells us that when we honor His
Word, when we obey His commands and walk in mercy and truth, that’s how we find
favor in God’s sight. When we do our part, God will do His part.
Today, if you are believing
God for something, maybe a turnaround in a relationship, career or your health,
stand firm that God’s Word is true. When you put Him first place in your life,
when you follow His commands, He promises to pour out His favor on you. When
those thoughts try to tell you, “It’s not going to happen. It’s too good to be
true.” Turn it around and say, “Father, I want to thank You for Your favor on
my life, on my children, on my career, on my future. I am Your child, and I
know it’s not temporary. It’s not seasonal. It doesn’t come and go. Thank you,
God, for a lifetime of favor!”
PRAYER
FOR TODAY
Father, thank You for Your
goodness and faithfulness in my life. I choose to honor You in all I do. I
choose to acknowledge Your ways. Thank You for pouring at Your favor and
blessing on me as I boldly follow Your commands in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
***
“He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me?with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead .… And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.” (Lamentations 3:4-6, 8 NLT)
We all go through a time when our lives seem to be falling apart. We lose our job. A relationship falls apart. Someone dies. Our health takes a turn for the worse.
In those times, we’re tempted to think God has abandoned us.
But he hasn’t.
The ancient prophet Jeremiah was in the same boat when he wrote the book of Lamentations. His country, Judah, endured an economic tailspin and was terrorized by a foreign enemy. He witnessed incredible inhumanities committed against his people. People were out of work and starving to death.
Where did Jeremiah start? He told God how he felt. In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah says: “He [God] has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and surrounded me?with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead .… And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers” (NLT).
Does it surprise you that these words are in the Bible? Jeremiah, too, felt God had forgotten him. But Jeremiah didn’t ignore what he was feeling. He didn’t sugarcoat the situation. He told God what was on his heart. In fact, Jeremiah spent five chapters telling God what he thought about the situation. He told God, “This stinks!”
Why would God put that kind of passage in the Bible? He wants you to know that he can handle your anger, your gripes, and your grief. Jeremiah spends an entire book of the Bible blowing off steam. If God was big enough to handle Jeremiah’s pain, he’s big enough to handle yours, too.
Swallow your emotions, and you just hurt yourself. Your stomach will keep score!
Instead, unload them on God.
When my kids were little, they’d throw temper tantrums. Their temper tantrums didn’t make me love them any less. They didn’t make me doubt my decisions. They didn’t make me feel like less of a father.
They reminded me that my kids were immature. They didn’t know what I knew.
God doesn’t love you any less when you throw a temper tantrum. He doesn’t owe you an explanation, but he is never afraid of what you have to say.
So tell him. It’ll be the beginning of healing.
Talk It Over
- What is going on in your life that you’ve been afraid to talk to God about?
- Why is it difficult to be honest with God about our struggles?
- Try writing a letter to God about your struggles. How does it help to put these words on paper? What can you more easily say to God by writing rather than speaking?
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