The
car refused to start and it’s raining like the days of Noah! Finally getting it to turn over the delay
caused everything to fall behind.
To
top it off the washer overflowed, the cat threw up on the portable heater and I
rushed to grab the new kitten as he danced in it thinking it was a “hot meal”
prepared before his presence! Oh God,
why have you removed your favor from me?
“Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?”
(Psalm 77:7 NKJV)
Being
more dramatic the Evangelical Heritage Version for this passage is more accurate in
matching emotion to emotion. Take a look and imagine how this must look to God.
“Will the Lord reject forever?
Will He never again show favor?
Has His mercy vanished to the end?
Will He never again show favor?
Has His mercy vanished to the end?
Has what He said failed for all generations?"
(Psalm 77:7-8 EHV)
Does
that sound familiar? Maybe that’s not exactly how a bad day, week or month
happens in your life, but it’s a good scenario of a page out of my book.
Most
of you know I absolutely love the rain.
However, sometimes it feels like everything I attempt to do to get ahead
gets “rained on” and seems like nothing is moving forward to the good things
God said He had planned for me. Instead
of thinking I’ve got to change my ways,
I start questioning the Lord wondering what is He doing and why doesn't it involve me?
I’d
venture to say that some of us have a great deal in common with one another in
that department, along with a certain ruler we know as King David. Throughout the psalms we read of when the
king felt abandoned by God, and he urgently pleaded that His favor be restored.
“O God, You have cast us off; You have broken us
down; You have
been displeased; Oh, restore us (favor) again!”
(Psalm 60:1 NKJV)
“I entreated Your favor with my whole
heart; be merciful to me
according to Your word.” (Psalm 119:58 NKJV)
There
have been past times when I was in that position and prayed for God’s mercy
(unmerited favor) as well, but sadly it didn’t come. Can you relate? The good news is that there was hope, and with
the power of the Holy Spirit I made the necessary changes for releasing the
favor of God.
Are
you wondering why things just don’t seem to be bursting forth with getting
ahead in your goals, dreams and vision?
Perhaps you have put the brakes on God’s favor by limiting the Holy
Spirit with the way you think.
I’d
like to talk to you today about some things that may be preventing you from
receiving God’s favor, and what steps to take that might get you back on track
with moving toward your heart’s desire.
Ticking
off God
Did
you know that Christians have a way of making God angry? We think we’re being humble by not bringing
all our problems and plans to the Lord because, “He’s too busy to hear my stuff and has bigger issues to deal with
besides listening to petty things in my heart.”
In
reality that “drivel” really ticks Him off, or as the Bible says, “provokes”
Him to wrath.
Psalm
78:41 gives us an example of how God was angry with His people, because of
their limited mindset as to what He could do for them.
“Again and again they limited God, preventing Him
from blessing them. Continually they turned back from Him and provoked the Holy
One of Israel!” (TPT – The Passion Translation)
We actually have the ability to limit what God wants to do for us
based on what we think, say, do or do not do.
It’s the truth!
Most people never reach their full potential because of their mindset. They either think they’ll never achieve
anything great, or they compare themselves with others and what they have
done. These “doubters” fail to remember
the vision God put inside their heart and focus on the negative side of things.
My friends, you have to believe in the vision inside you before
God can bless it. If you don’t believe
in your dreams why should anyone else? When
you change your thinking everything around you will begin to grow toward the
dream.
Faith Comes by Hearing
Are you wondering, “How can I go from no vision to living the
vision?” That’s a good question and I’ve
already touched on it when it comes to taking the limits off what God wants to
do in and through us.
There’s more to it besides letting go and letting God have His way. In order for the dream/vision to come to pass
you have to change something, and the first thing to change is your thinking.
Our mindset changes when our faith becomes renewed by God’s
Word. You’ve heard that “faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Faith builds as it is
flooded by the voice of the Lord through listening to what He says on a subject.
After an accident at the place where I was teaching emotionally
disturbed children, I began listening to inspirational preaching and teaching
practically non-stop. Having a lot to
lose and believing God for my healing, I listened to everything on the subject
and how it was God’s will for me to be healed.
This wasn’t just on Sunday’s but daily from 6:00 am until
1:00 pm I would soak in the Word, take notes and pray. Whether it was on television (we had it
then), CD or tapes, I listened to teaching from people I never heard before as
well as some I had, investing in myself so that I could hear the voice of the
Holy Spirit in my inner witness.
Either God’s Word was true or this bible stuff wasn’t what I
believed to be real after all. I was
committed to finding the truth about this book called the “Bible” and the
Author of it. I was hungry for guidance,
knowledge and understanding so that God’s wisdom in my spirit came
automatically.
As God’s Word became grafted into my spirit, it didn’t take long
before my faith grew and grew. Before I
realized it favor and wisdom also came when I had to go to court, because my
thoughts lined up with God’s.
“… and delivered him out of all his troubles, and
gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of
Pharaoh (in my case the judge), king of Egypt; and he made him governor over
Egypt and all his house.”
(Acts 7:10 NKJV)
(Acts 7:10 NKJV)
Now Listen
Dr. Charles Stanley has a phrase that he continually uses through his messages. When he’s about to
make a life changing statement he makes sure his congregation is attentive to
what’s about to come by saying, “Now listen!”
Daily listening to Bible teaching renews and transforms the
entire brain literally causing things around us to change to His way.
The more I listened to sermons, teachings and scripture songs it
became easier to stay on the same path with the Lord. I could recognize when something didn’t line
up with what God said in His Word and learned not to follow in that path that
led away from what I really desired.
Be Renewed
and You Will Transform
The Bible tells us in Romans 12:2 that the way our mind changes to
think like God thinks so that blessings begin to flow into our lives, is to become a transformed
creation. Take a look at how The Passion
Translation words this scripture reference.
“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the
culture around you,
but be inwardly transformed by the Holy
Spirit through a total
reformation of how you think. This will
empower you to discern God’s
will as
you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His eyes.”
(Romans 12:2 The Passion Translation TPT)
In other words, when we think the way our Creator thinks, we get
the results like He did. Why is
that? God never puts limits on what He
can do. He created us to do great things
as well, and when our mind is transformed in His image stuff happens!
The daily hearing of God’s Word renewed my mind continually and
caused me to move toward my dreams. As I
was being transformed my actions evolved around my vision, not my
limitations.
I began thinking, if this is of God, He will make a way. All I had to do was keep doing things that lead me to my desires, even if it was only baby steps.
I began thinking, if this is of God, He will make a way. All I had to do was keep doing things that lead me to my desires, even if it was only baby steps.
Take off the Limits
Getting
back on track for achieving what God has designed for us takes work, desire and
belief that there is something worth the effort. This week we’re going to take it slow, but
still move toward getting the limitations of God’s favor removed from our
lives.
I’d
like you to begin with these two steps. They might not seem like much, but
believe me when I say it won’t be as easy as you think to keep doing them on a continual
basis. Here we go, let's do this!
Step 1 – Start intentionally listening to motivational Bible
teaching daily.
Be specific in who you select to listen to if you want your faith
to grow. Make sure that you literally
hear the Word of God and intentionally put to action what you hear.
Step 2 – Change how you think about your life.
Start trusting God and what He says about you, your life and the
plans He has reserved for the vision in your heart. Believe that there really is limitless Daily Favor for your success already set aside and ready to be distributed as you
seek direction from God.
Do you think you can do these things? I do, and with God’s help I
know you can. Believe in what God says
about the wonderful life He has planned for you, and as you listen to His Word,
the more He will reveal.
Be sure to read part 2 of Limiting God’s Favor, but in the meantime
get excited about seeing your vision finally come to pass. Change your thought patterns from “never” to openly
confessing “today” I’ll start living a life without limitations on God’s favor!
Until next
time, take off the limits for God’s favor!
I have more favor for you. Won’t you let Me
give it?
-
Jesus
Christ
What’s New This Week: Click on the link.
The Real Faith by Kenneth E Hagin
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Maybe you don’t know the Living God
that I know but would like to have this kind of favor in your life
also. Click on the above tab “Tell Me About Jesus” for more information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Note: Emphasis may be given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take away from the inspirited Word of God.
When
used, the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we
give him no place in our lives.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues but is geared toward spiritual awareness.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues but is geared toward spiritual awareness.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Disclaimer Notes: Results may
vary due to lack of belief.
Unless noted, scripture reference
in series was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway.
Image credit: Creative Common License if not
specified. What Is God Doing? When God Gets Angry New Mindset Let's Do This
News from Fay, Where Faith and Favor Meet, Favor of God, Favor, Favored1, Daily Favor Blog, Limiting God's Favor: Part 1, God's Favor, Struggle with Believing, Believe, Trusting God, Kenneth E. Hagin, Josiah Ruff, Teaching Series, Weekly Challenge.
