The Extraordinary Gift of God’s Favor

By Thomas Denegre

Mirror, mirror on the wall who’s the fairest of them all? 

Alas, fairy tales always have a good lesson for us to learn in life.  Don’t they? This week’s reading in Genesis takes us through the favor of God with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We see how God’s favor bestowed enormous wealth to his faithful but flawed servants, so God could build his nation to carry the bloodline to our messiah; Jesus Our Lord.

Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7, Genesis 22:1-12, Genesis 22:13-18, Genesis 25:19-34, Genesis 28:10-22, 

Genesis 30:25-36, Genesis 30:37-43

Understanding the true nature of God’s favor in our lives can transport our spiritual lives to the deepest ends of the water where we can find rest in the abundant life of Christ; even during our darkest days.  But beware of the mirror on the wall because it will lie to you causing you to crash onto the rocks.

I’ve heard that God’s favor is called His ‘demonstrated delight.’ While in the Old Testament God’s favor was bestowed to selected people, we in the new covenant are privileged to live in God’s favor when we believe in Jesus as our Lord and repent from our sinful ways.  Favor is like God’s grace of undeserved kindness and forgiveness, and then goes the extra mile to reach down in the muck of our black sins over-and-over again to save us from ourselves. The intent is for us to discover that all of God’s favor has been given to us the moment we believe. 

A friend once told me of his visit to a family in Lebanon.  Late in the afternoon the four-year-old son heard his father’s car come into the driveway. Excited to hear his father arriving home, the little boy jumped onto the sofa to look out the window joyfully exclaiming, “Abba! Abba! Abba!”

As the father walked into the home, the little boy ran to his father jumping into his strong arms. The father kissed the boy’s face and said, “I love you more than my eyes! I love you more than my eyes!” Again, the father smothered him with more kisses and said again and again, “I love you more than my eyes!  I love you more than my eyes!” In return, the son kissed his father back with delight. 

Favor is receiving the full force of God’s love with kisses to our face who says to us, “I love you more than my life! I love you more than my life!” 

• Favor is the good shepherd leaving the ninety-nine to save the one.
• Favor is rescuing the extortionist named Mathew to become his follower.
• Favor is saving the adulteress from being stoned to death to become a saint.
• Favor is liberating the murderer named Paul who became the greatest Apostle of them all
• Favor is the loving father who forgives his prodigal son and says everything he has belongs to him. 

But beware of the mirror on the wall for it can deceive and destroy you.  It destroyed King Saul, Judas, the Pharisees, and the brother of the prodigal son. Most people are on a path from pride to humility, from self-centeredness to selflessness, from self-hatred to self-acceptance, from holding grudges to forgiveness.  They gaze into the mirror to see pride, fear, apathy, guilt, shame, or disgrace and then they project a god into their own image who is despising, condemning, punitive, vengeful, or indifferent.  Blind to their own ways they cannot see past themselves, or the mirror, to see our true God.  Sadly, they treat themselves and others in the same fashion.  God has become a reflection of their flawed nature.

As mature Christians we have looked past the man in the mirror to see Abba kissing our face saying, “I love you more than my life! I love you more than my life!” By receiving the full force of God’s favor, even in the midst of our sins, all we can do is desire to kiss him back with the full force of our love and our kisses. Even when I’m doing sinful things, my God loves me in return with kisses.  By receiving his favor, I only want to love him more. In this truth, God’s favor calls us to love Him, to love ourselves, and to love our enemies. 

By living in life union with Jesus (John 15:7), we know his living streams of love pour through us, so we can pour that love and favor onto others.  As mature Christians, we must tolerate the weakness of those in the family of faith, so we can shatter through a person’s mirror to display the full force of God’s kisses. The abounding favor of God has been given to us all to discover and to share; revelation by revelation.

The Apostle Paul teaches us in Colossians Chapter 3 the way to breach through the mirror, so other believers can experience and taste the favor of God with his kisses.

12 You are always and dearly loved by God! So, robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. 13 Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. Col. 3:12-13 (TPT)

The Glow of the Soul

I had an acquaintance who openly professed himself to be “not a religious man.” So, it was fascinating to hear him tell of the time when, as a college student, he visited the campus of a Christian university. Whether it was for scholastic competition or a conference, I do not recall, but whatever his reason for being there, the experience was for him a bit unsettling. “They were too happy!” he exclaimed. Though his grin acknowledged the irony in his statement, he nevertheless remained as bemused by—and seemingly skeptical of—this outer glow of inner joy as when he originally encountered it decades prior.

There is indeed a joy that fills us who are in Christ. We discover His promises to be true, His love to be free, and His presence to be real. Our life changes in an instant, and we blossom over time. But to think life in Christ is free of problems and disappointments is [trigger warning!] no more realistic for us than in the fairy tales that conjure up the “they-all-lived-happily-ever-after” specter in the first place. Even blessed lives have their difficulties. Take Isaac, for instance. This chosen son of Abraham planted crops and reaped a hundredfold “because the Lord blessed him,” so much so, it turns out, that his rival Philistines “envied him” to the point of stopping up his wells and “filling them with earth” (Genesis 26:12-15). Even in blessing, evil lay close at hand. (We can relate, Isaac, we can relate.)

Christian joy is not the goofy grin of naiveté, as some might suspect, rather it is the glow of the overcomer—the one who perseveres through the struggles of this life with face set on Christ and the eternal victory that is found in Him. Then in this hope, she assures sojourners of this hope; in great blessing, he becomes great blessing to others. This is the smile of the soul, the manifestation of the Spirit, the beaming beacon of joy. This is new life in Christ.

Father, you are good; in your goodness, deliver me from evil. You bless me, so grace me to bless others. Your Spirit burns in me, so let Him shine from me in great joy, the joy of an overcomer. Thank you. In Jesus’ name and by the power of your Spirit, I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is confidence.

An unlikely role model for servants like us

So here’s the story line.  Isaac’s father, Abraham, sent his chief servant to go and find a wife for Isaac.  The servant asked God to lead him to the woman of God’s choosing and his prayer was answered in the person of Rebekah.  After the servant’s travel ... his prayer ... prayers answered ... the giving of gifts, it all came down to one question for Rebekah, “Will you go with this man?” and [SPOILER ALERT!] her reply, “I will go.” 

It is a inspiring story of unsung heroes, of obedience and perseverance, of faith overcoming doubt, of promises fulfilled, and the beginnings of love.  I recommend the book! 

Yet the story is also a depiction of God’s mission for us.  Jesus calls us his friends and he sends us forth to serve as he serves.  So let’s consider the story again, only this time looking to Abraham's chief servant as our role model.  Like him, we are on a mission.  And from him, we can learn much.

We are sent to find those chosen to belong to the “bride” of Christ – his church and its people.  Are we willing to pray for God's guidance and then actively search for the people of his choosing today? 

We, too, are sent with gifts, but of far greater worth than silver and gold.  How do we not only speak of Christ, but also confirm his love through gifts of light and life, peace and joy? 

They asked Rebekah, “Will you go?”  How do we muster this kind of boldness?  How do we pop the question?  And are we overthinking something this simple? 

When Rebekah replied, “I will go,” the chief servant brought her to the son of his master.  Are we willing to usher the willing safely into the presence of Christ? 

We’ve been given a gift: to live as servants.  Nothing could be more honorable.  Nothing could be more exciting. 

May we all look for our divine assignments today and then serve in humble obedience. 

[Today’s reading, Genesis 24:50-58, is excerpted from the story of the chief servant’s mission to find the bride of Isaac.  Click here to read this story.] 

Genesis 24:10-27

Hospitality as a Sign

Abraham’s wife Sarah had been buried. Abraham was older than dirt. (I mean well advanced in years.) Isaac was becoming an adult. He needed a good wife.

In those days, dating, living together for a while, having a child and then perhaps getting married didn’t happen. Isaac’s father Abraham enlisted his chief servant to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham had him make a solemn promise though, that he would not get Isaac a wife from the Canaanites they were living among, but from Abraham’s own country. He wanted to be sure that Isaac’s future wife came from the same spiritual foundation as his family. Abraham was aware of the importance of both the husband and wife having a heart for the Lord in order to work together to build a marriage relationship on the solid ground of God and the teachings of the Bible.

Have you ever prayed to God with words something like this; Father, please help me to know your will. I pray for your guidance and direction. Lord please clearly reveal to me my path that I may without a doubt know the message is from you.

That is in a way the prayer of the chief servant of Abraham. Upon arriving to the town of Nahor, the servant prayed; “Oh Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, “Please let down your jar that I may have a drink, and she says, “Drink and I’ll water your camels too” – let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

Hospitality accompanied by sincerity is very welcoming. That is exactly what the girl offered the servant. She was the type of person Abraham asked the servant  to bring to him. In this case, the warm and welcoming spirit she exuded made the choice clear. She was just what the servant was looking for!

As Christ followers and lovers of the Word, we too must hold out our hands in welcoming hospitality to others. All others. The feelings or vibes we give off, may make a difference in the life path of another. Our outreach may be just what they needed.  

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

Read/Listen to Genesis 24:10-27

The Story - Chapter 2 - Genesis 21-22

Each of these two chapters has something I can relate with and each of these chapters brings a smile and a tear.  Were you grinning just a little bit with Sarah when she was explaining the mean of the name of her son, Isaac,(he laughs)?
 
Genesis 21:6-7 (NIV)
    "Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." 
   "And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." 

Sarah's joy was obvious to everyone she was near.  The dream of her life had been fulfilled.  The years of tears had come to an end.  Then, some years later Abraham was called by God to give the ultimate sacrifice of his only son, the love of his and Sarah's life.  This is a difficult chapter to soak in.  We have learned to laugh with Sarah, now we are called to grieve with Abraham as he does God's will.


Genesis 22:2 (NIV)
"Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
    

I cannot imagine myself in Abraham's shoes; I cannot honestly say that I would not run away from God, and disobey this directive.  Abraham was an amazing human.  Yes, he was human but he had a faith I could only dream about.  To trust and obey to such an extent is beyond my comprehension.  It is one thing to claim to trust God's word when waiting for something; it is quite another to trust and obey His word after it is received.

Read Genesis 21-22 here

Listen to Genesis 21-22 here

God's Perfect Plan Genesis 22

I love to read. When I find a good book, I can read it two, maybe three times. I get so immersed in some books that sometimes I don’t notice foreshadowing until I read the book again. Then I see how the author revealed the ending halfway through the book and I was unaware.

The story of God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac is a perfect example of God foreshadowing His plan of salvation for us. There are numerous parallels between Isaac and Jesus in this passage. What God started with Isaac He would complete with his own son.

First we see that Abraham and Isaac walked for three days before reaching the place where Isaac would be sacrificed. For three days Abraham lived as if his son were dead. In the same way Jesus was in the grave for three days before resurrecting.

When God provided a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac he was foreshadowing to how He would provide his own son as the perfect lamb to sacrifice in our place.

Isaac carried the wood for his sacrifice just as Jesus carried the cross he would be sacrificed on. I could go on and on. This passage is full of God foreshadowing His perfect plan. Keep reading today’s passage and find some more for yourself.

Read the entire passage on Biblegatway Genesis 22