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God’s Favor Is All You Need
by David Cerullo
“May the favor of
the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us.” – Psalm 90:17 NIV
If I
called you on the phone today and asked how I could pray for you, what would
you say?
Do you
need God’s healing touch?
A
financial breakthrough? The restoration of your marriage? Deliverance from an
addiction? The salvation of your kids or other loved ones?
Well, I
have great news:
There’s only one thing you really need — God’s favor!
You see,
when you open your heart to God’s wisdom and favor, everything else in your
life is impacted.
Not only
will He reenergize your spiritual life, but there will be a transformation of
your health, finances, and relationships as well.
This is why David could boldly say, “Those who seek the LORD
lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10).
The only need we have is a “seek the Lord” need!
To David,
this was more than a nice theory. Because he had drawn near to the Lord as his
Good Shepherd, he lacked nothing (Psalm 23:1).
And he was so confident of God’s ongoing favor in his life that he
proclaimed, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days
of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (verse
6).
David
experienced this same kind of favor when the prophet Samuel was seeking God’s
direction on who Israel’s next king should be (1 Samuel 16).
Samuel
knew the king was to be chosen from among the sons of Jesse, and so the sons
were paraded before the prophet to see which one was the Lord’s choice.
Samuel must have been puzzled when none of the seven oldest sons met
with God’s approval, so he told Jesse: “The LORD has not chosen these…
Are these all the sons you have?” (verses 10-11)
Apparently,
no one had thought to invite David to this important gathering. He was the
youngest son, and he was out tending his father’s sheep.
But while
everyone else was looking at factors like age and rank, God was looking for a
man after His heart… who would fulfill His purposes (Acts 13:22, 36).
God was
looking for a person He could show His favor to!
Friend, I
hope you are such a person. Perhaps you feel like you’re just taking care of
some smelly old sheep in a forgotten place today… but tomorrow your royalty may
be revealed!
Favor
Amid Hard Times
At this point, you may want to protest, “But David, you don’t
understand. I’ve tried to serve the Lord faithfully for many years, but I don’t
really sense His favor right now.”
Believe
me, I have faced similar times. And so did the Bible’s greatest heroes.
In fact,
God’s favor often shines the brightest amid dark days. Let me
explain…
· Noah lived
in an exceptionally evil generation, and the Lord was about to pour out His
judgment on humanity (Genesis 6:1-8).
“But Noah
found favor in the eyes of the LORD” (verse 8).
What an
encouraging lesson for us: Even if judgment, destruction, disease, or financial
lack is all around us, we can experience God’s blessings, protection, and
favor.
· Esther lived
in extremely dangerous times, and powerful men like Haman were plotting to
eradicate the Jewish people. Yet “Esther found favor in
the eyes of all who saw her” (Esther 2:15).
Later,
that amazing favor enabled her to successfully petition the king for the Jews’
safety. Just as Esther experienced, God wants to give us His favor “for
such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) — so we can make an impact on
the people around us.
· Daniel was
taken captive by the Babylonians and removed from his homeland. He could have
thought the Lord had abandoned him, but instead we’re told, “God had
caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel” (Daniel
1:9).
This is
such a wonderful reminder that God’s favor can come to us regardless of how
difficult our circumstances seem and no matter where we are!
Take a
Step of Faith
I am
praying for you this month, asking God to touch every area of your life with
His divine favor. We believe in the power of prayer, and we’ve seen the Lord
give breakthroughs to countless partners when they contacted the Inspiration
Prayer Center to intercede for their needs.
But we’ve
also seen another spiritual principle at work in the pages of Scripture and in
our own lives:
Sometimes
a step of faith and obedience is needed
before God’s favor is released!
People in
the Bible were asked to do such things as dip in the Jordan River… give their
last bit of food to the prophet… stretch out their withered hand… wash in the
Pool of Siloam… or plant a financial Seed.
But
whenever people exercised their faith and obeyed the Lord, He did miracles!
What step
of faith is God asking you to take today? If you are waiting
for Him to release His FAVOR, He may be waiting for you to release your SEED!
I’m
convinced that a great Harvest of favor is coming to your life as you Sow Seeds
of faith, expectancy, and obedience.
God bless
you!
David
Cerullo is the founder, chairman,
and CEO of Inspiration Ministries, located in Indian Land, South Carolina – a
ministry dedicated to impacting people for Christ worldwide through media. The
son of international evangelist Morris Cerullo, David took a less traditional
approach to ministry, graduating from Oral Roberts University with a degree in
business administration and management. He has authored over 20 books, and
operates a global media ministry that powerfully impacts the world for Christ. More from
David on Inspiration.org.
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