100 Days Of Favor (3 page)

Today’s Scripture

…Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. —Psalm 35:27

D
O YOU BELIEVE
that Jesus is interested in your success?

Take a moment to reflect on this.

My friend, I want you to know that Jesus delights in blessing you. It is His good pleasure to see you blessed in every area of your life! Now, don’t put a limit on His blessings in your life. The blessings of the Lord are not (as some may erroneously believe) just seen in material things. Jesus is infinitely interested in your
total
well-being. He is interested in your family, career, fulfillment in life, marriage, ministry, and boy, does the list go on!

If it matters to you, it matters to Him!

When it comes to your desires, hopes and dreams, there is no detail that is too minuscule, minute or insignificant for Jesus. Trust me, if it matters to you, it matters to Him! Even if you go to Him in prayer to remove that small pimple on your nose, He is not going to look at you and reply mockingly, “Hey buddy, don’t you know that I’ve got a whole universe to run? Come to Me when you have a bigger prayer request.” No way! A thousand times no! Jesus will never ridicule or deride your concerns as petty. He is never dismissive or condescending. He is not like some of your so-called “friends,” who may delight in poking fun at your shortcomings. If it bothers you, it “bothers” Him.

You are important to Jesus. Know with full assurance in your heart that Jesus knows you perfectly, and yet accepts and loves you perfectly. When you begin to understand that, you will realize that it is truly that unmerited favor, that favor from Jesus that you know you do not deserve, did not merit and cannot earn for yourself, that will perfect every imperfection and weakness in your life. If you are facing challenges, such as lack in any area, addictions, fears, sicknesses or broken relationships, Jesus’ unmerited favor will protect, deliver, prosper, bring restoration to and provide for you. His unmerited favor will transform you into wholeness, and it is the goodness of God, not your striving and self-efforts, that will lead you to live victoriously for His glory.

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me, for being interested in my success and for wanting to bless me in every area of my life. I cast every care on my heart into Your hands. Thank You for Your unmerited favor that gives me wisdom and strength to overcome every problem and to live victoriously today.

Today’s Thought

My steps are ordered by the Lord because I am righteous in Him.

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 4

It’s Not What You Have But Who You Have

Today’s Scripture

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. —Genesis 39:1–2

W
OULD YOU CONSIDER
the young man Joseph, who was about to be sold into slavery, “a successful man”?

Of course not!

Yet, God says in His own words that Joseph was a successful man.

God’s definition of success is contrary to the world’s definition. Corporate America measures success based on what
you
have done, what
you
have accomplished and what
you
have accumulated. It is based entirely on
you
focusing all your time, energy and resources in meriting titles and collecting accomplishments.

It is the presence of the Lord in your life that makes you a success!

Now, we have witnessed how this self-indulgent accumulation has led to the subprime crisis, the decimation of investment banks and a widespread international financial meltdown.

My friend, I want to encourage you to begin to see that the world’s model of success is unstable and built upon a foundation that is shakable. It may have the appearance of the good life, but it is temporal, and we have all seen for ourselves how the world’s transient wealth can dissipate like smoke and easily slip away like the shifting sands in the desert.

From Genesis 39:2, it is clear that success is not
what
you have, but rather
who
you have! Joseph literally had nothing materially, but at the same time, he had everything because the Lord was with him. The material things that you have accumulated or are feverishly trying to amass do not make you a success. It is the presence of the Lord in your life that makes you a success!

We need to learn to stop pursuing things and to start pursuing Him. God sees your relationship with Him as the only thing that you need for every success in your life. I can’t imagine starting in a worse place than Joseph. He was completely naked. He had nothing! No bank accounts, no educational qualifications, no natural connections with people of influence, nothing. Thank God the Bible records a picture of Joseph who began with nothing, so that you and I can have hope today. If you think that like Joseph, you have nothing, well, you can start believing in the power of the presence of the Lord in your life. Start looking to Jesus and claim that promise in that scripture for yourself!

Say, “The Lord is with ME, and I am a successful person.”

Say it a hundred times if you have to, and begin to see this as your reality. Stick this promise on your mirror, and every morning when you brush your teeth, remind yourself that today, as you go to work, as you go to school, as you start the day caring for your children at home (or do whatever it is that you need to do), the Lord is with you. And because He is with you, YOU ARE ALREADY A SUCCESS! When you have Jesus in your life, you are no longer trying to be a success; you ARE a success!

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank You that You are with me, and that You will never leave me nor forsake me. And because I have Your presence in my life, I am already a success! In everything that I need to do today, I know that You are with me to help me succeed at it.

Today’s Thought

Because the Lord is with me, I am a successful person.

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 5

Jesus, Our Perfect Hero

Today’s Scripture

His mouth is most sweet, yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem! —Song of Solomon 5:16

J
ESUS IS SOMEONE
whom you can be completely real with. You can hang out with Him and be yourself, with no pretense and no play-acting. Jesus is ever-loving toward you and you can talk to Him about anything. He enjoys conversing with you about your dreams, aspirations and hopes. He wants to heal you of things in your past that you may be struggling with. He is interested in your present challenges. He wants to weep with you when you are down and rejoice with you in all your victories.

Jesus is someone whom you can be completely real with.

Jesus is love and tenderness personified. Be careful not to confuse His tenderness with the effeminate and weak images that you have seen depicted in some traditional paintings of Him. He is tenderness and strength wrapped up in one. He is meekness and majesty, manhood and deity, velvet and steel. You see, sometimes, when we attempt to be assertive and strong, we bulldoze over people’s feelings and end up hurting them with our words. When we attempt to be tender, we overdose on niceness and reduce ourselves to doormats to be taken advantage of by others.

Let’s turn away from ourselves and look at Jesus. He could sternly force a pack of scheming Pharisees to back off in one instance, challenging them by saying, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7). In the very next moment, this same Jesus could look straight into the eyes of a broken woman caught in adultery, and with compassion resonating deeply in His voice, ask her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:10–11).

This is our God!

In one moment, a tired Jesus could be fast asleep in a wind-swept fisherman’s boat, oblivious to the rough Galilean waters crashing against the hapless vessel. But in the very next moment, you see Him staring unflinchingly at the lashing waves, His well-toned carpenter’s arms raised to the sky. With His single declaration of absolute authority over heaven and earth, the waves submitted and calmed instantaneously into a placid mirror of stillness (Mark 4:37–39).

Jesus is 100 percent Man and at the same time 100 percent God. As Man, He understands and identifies with all that you have gone through, are going through and will ever go through in this life. But as a loving God, all His power, authority and resources are on your side. Beloved, whatever you are facing today, let your heart rest easy in His perfect love for you.