100 Days Of Favor (5 page)

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

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” (Luke 12:7).

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 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’s love for you is infinitely detailed. Jesus said that not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father’s will (Matthew 10:29). 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 (John 10:3, 14). My friend, His love for you is personal, detailed and in-depth! Your heavenly Father wants you to involve Him even in the smallest, most mundane matters of your life, and see His unmerited favor surround you, protect you and lead you to good success.

Today’s Prayer

Father, thank You for loving me in such a personal, detailed and in-depth way. Right now, I cast every care and concern that I have in my heart for myself and my family into Your hands. I ask that You take care of them for me and that You direct my paths. I refuse to fret and worry about any of my problems anymore because they are in Your hands. Instead, I choose to thank You for Your awesome answers!

Today’s Thought

God cares for me intensely and His love for me is personal, detailed and in-depth.

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 9

Jesus Is Immanuel, The Almighty God With Us

Today’s Scripture

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” —Matthew 1:22–23

D
ID YOU KNOW
that Jesus’ name is not just Jesus? His name is also
Immanuel,
meaning the Almighty God is with us. How comforting it is to know that our awesome Almighty God, who is also our loving Father, is always with us!

A precious brother shared with me that even as a believer years ago, he had a problem with alcohol, and every night he would be out drinking to the point that he could not even remember how he got home the next day. He tried everything he could to stop drinking, but failed repeatedly.

When Almighty God is with you, good things will happen in you, around you and through you.

One day, he went out with some friends for a game of squash. After the game, he laid down on the ground to rest. As he was resting, he felt Jesus’ presence come upon him and in that very moment, the Lord broke his addiction to alcohol and totally removed his desire to drink!

Today, this brother whom the Lord delivered from alcoholism is a key leader in my church. Isn’t it just like God to take the weak things of the world to confound the mighty, and the foolish things of the world to confound the wise?

You know, all our struggling, willpower, discipline and self-effort cannot do what the presence of the Lord can do in an instant. And who is to say that as we are talking about Jesus now, His presence will not take away something that is destructive in your life?

You see, you are transformed not by struggling. You are transformed by beholding Jesus and believing that He loves you and wants to save you.

Now, what does it mean to say “God with us”? We must understand it the same way the Hebrew people would have understood it. There is something beautiful here—this is the secret of Immanuel! The Jewish mind understands that when the Lord is
with you,
you become successful in every endeavor. Don’t just take my word for it. Look through the chronicles of Jewish history. The Bible records that whenever the Lord was
with them
in battle, the children of Israel were never defeated, and every military campaign ended in overwhelming success.

In fact, in the battle for Jericho, the city was theirs with just a shout (Joshua 6:20)! Why? The Lord was with them. Even in battles when they were outnumbered, they triumphed because the Lord was with them. It is no different for you today. When the Bible says that Jesus is with you, He is with you to help you, assist you, turn things around for you and make good things happen for you. He is not with you, as some wrongly believe, to condemn, judge or find fault! When Almighty God is
with you,
good things will happen
in you, around you
and
through you.
Expect this to happen to you today!

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank You that You are always with me. Help me remember that it is not my willpower, self-efforts or discipline that will give me victory over temptations and addictions, but Your presence in my life. Thank You for the good things that will happen to me and for me and my loved ones because of Your presence in my life.

Today’s Thought

Victory comes not by my willpower, but Jesus’ presence.

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 10

God Is Not Present To Find Fault With You

Today’s Scripture

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. —Proverbs 3:6

S
OMETHING 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.

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

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. Sometimes, everything can appear to be in order on the surface, but somehow, you may 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. You see, 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!

Beloved, 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. This means that 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 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 to make you a success in every endeavor you undertake.