Covering my mouth with my hand and squeezing my lips
tight to conceal the smile was my first attempt at looking sincere. I wasn’t
successful and he saw right through me.
“Oh you think that’s funny. I’m in pain and you’re
laughing!”
“What did you do?
Hit your funny bone?”
“No, my arm.”
Trying to be supportive I walked over to him and began
massaging his arm. Just as I thought I
was doing some good hubby looked up at me and said, “I don’t know how that’s going to help. It’s the other arm!”
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Amsterdam,
Noord-Holland, Netherlands; Lisbon
Portugal;
Kikinda; Serbia;
Trbovlje,
Central Sava Statistical Region Slovenia;
Broadstairs,
Wales;
United Kingdom;
Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam; Mexico; Brazil; China; Congo Republic; Ecuador; Russia.
USA – Clovis CA; Highlands
Ranch, CO; Arlington Heights, IL; Hoisington, KS; New Orleans, LA; Springfield,
MO; Woodbury & Haddon Heights, NJ; Las Vegas, NV; Ballston Spa, NY;
Brookings, OR; North Warren, PA; Memphis, TN; Arlington, Kaufman &
Friendswood, TX; South Burlington, VT.
I am so happy for your visit and hope that you come back
each week to participate in the weekly challenges. God has been faithful and we expect His favor
to abound in the lives of those who chose to Journey with Jesus on Daily Favor
Blog.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss out on this week's challenge (below).
Lord, You’re Coming through Fuzzy
Have you ever had one of those weeks when you’ve had a
hard time seeing God at work? You know
that He is, but zeroing in on those moments is a little fuzzy.
All around me I knew the favor of God was on our lives,
especially with all the radical storms. However,
there are those prayers that are weighing heavy on our hearts that we’re still
waiting on God to answer.
While “The Power of Your Love” was playing I watched my
husband as I sat at the computer. His head was bowed as he stood, stroking a
sleeping rescue on a cat tower. When the
song finished he turned around with tears streaming down his cheeks.
“I can see our
entire lives in that song … our home, pets, church with Nina singing at the top
of her lungs getting the words wrong yet belting it out … No matter what we do,
we’re still not God and it’s only His mercy that keeps things spinning.”
Lord Have Mercy!
 |
| This isn't Victory but actually a cat named Troy. |
I didn’t say anything but He was right you know. A few minutes later the king of our castle
alerted the media by proclaiming he was going to take a shower. Not long after I heard him yell from the
bathroom … “He’s in the shower!”
Yes it was Victory; (the rescue cat that was shot) he made
his way into the room and decided to join my husband in a cleansing. Gathering him from the shower I carried
Victory into the living room. Returning
to the scene to check on hubby he let out a rather unexpected remark.
“Were you holding
a cat?”
“Yes, a rather
wet one. Why?
“If not you’re
growing a lot of chest hair!”
Awww! … Lord have mercy!
Two Inches Taller
Smelling all sweet and savory after his shower, I started
feeling bad for my husband about the kind of day (actually week) he’d been
having with a sinus infection. Getting
up from typing I asked him to come over so I could give him a hug.
“Come here shorty” I said as I stood in front of him. Wait a minute, don’t get all bothered … since
his heart surgery I have to remind him to stand straight even though it still
hurts. It strengthens his chest muscles
and we both get a few chuckles out of it every time.
Getting ready to give my sympathy hug he pushed me away.
“Wait, I’m two
inches taller, watch!”
As he prepared to demonstrate I thought, this will be
good and I wait to see what he’s about to do.
For no reason at all he takes of his slippers.
“See? Without my slippers on I’m taller. (He puts
them on …) With them I’m shorter.”
You know what, he was right ... again! How that’s even possible I can’t imagine, but
something wasn’t quite right about what I was seeing.
Victory Dinner
By now it was almost 8:30 pm and we still hadn’t eaten
dinner because of taking care of Jewel (remember her from last week?) I can hear hubby talking in the kitchen, “That’s aluminum foil not the dinner bell.”
he says to Victory who is still following him all over the house. Apparently the new kitty is beginning to
settle into his surroundings nicely.
For me I’m having Grape Nuts with almond milk for my
supper. Like a good chap hubby brings it
to me while I’m still working at the computer.
“You’ll have to pour it.” He says pointing to his arm.
Pouring the milk I still can’t believe I said this even
in jest, “What’s wrong with your other
arm?” He attempted to plunk my
forehead but missed … I would have totally deserved it!
In a matter of a few seconds (from the kitchen to living
room) Victory has found hubby’s dinner and off he dashes to reclaim his
meat! Finally around 10:15 pm he
finishes his meal with little kitty wondering where was his victory?
Refocus
Finally hubby settled down to research some medications
on his computer. Once more he is greeted with another feline, only this time
it’s his cat. Not getting much attention
lately she decides to sit on the keyboard, and he has to just stop and “paws”
(pause … sorry, couldn’t resist). More mercy
Lord!
Are you wondering why I’m sharing some of this day-to-day
stuff that doesn’t seem that interesting?
It’s the result of how we turned around our thinking earlier in the
week.
After getting more negative reports I had reached my
limit and was feeling vulnerable in my spirit. No matter where I went people
loved to report bad things and held back on sharing good news. Crying out to the Lord I pleaded with Him for
good reports to come pouring in so we could give Him glory.
During the week my husband started to tell me something,
when in the middle of his sentence I asked him why he felt the need to “share”
that news with me. You’ve got to realize that this is a man of
vast knowledge and intelligence, except when it comes to telling me literally
everything that flows through his brain.
Hubby knows things that no one knows or even cares to
know … he’s one of those people who you ask, “How do you know that and even
more, why do you know that?
His mother used to accuse him of knowing things that
didn’t matter, and suggested if he applied some of that to his studies he’d do a lot
better. His response to her was, “As
long as my school work interests me I learn it.”
Generally I fix on things that are uplifting, but found
myself doubting some of my decisions. It
was then I heard the Lord tell me something deep in my spirit
“You’re focusing on the wrong thing.
You’re focusing on what you see not what you believe.”
I didn’t realize it, until the Holy Spirit redirected the
way I was approaching things. Instead of
walking by faith with Jesus for this leg of the journey I was focusing on sight
(what I was seeing physically). If I was
to receive grace and favor from God I would have to refocus on the Word.
Faith or Feeling
The Bible tells us that as believers we are to keep our
feeling and emotions in check with the Word of God if we are to have victory
over a circumstance. It’s no wonder
“Victory” has been such a challenge this week.
When we let what we see override our faith in God’s
promises, it cancels out the favor He has sent forward for our triumph. It’s actually “unspiritual” to let our
feelings get out of control, and as if we don’t belong to the Lord at all but
are ordinary men/women.
“You are still worldly (controlled by ordinary impulses,
the sinful capacity). For as long as there is jealousy and strife and discord
among you, are you not unspiritual, and are you not walking like ordinary men
(unchanged by faith)?” (1 Corinthians 3:3 AMP)
Negative feelings open the door for defeat and will lead
us to places we never want to go. “Feelings”
will always be there, but Godly wisdom will help us decide not to follow that
path.
As soon as I heard my husband say, “It’s the other arm”
it reaffirmed what God was revealing to me. So often we are fixated on the “other arm” so
to speak. We focus on the wrong side of
the situation and only see what the devil wants us to see, which triggers fear
and negative feelings.
Faith has to disregard what the eye sees and focus on
what the heart believes about the Word of God.
Every time I do that the Lord reminds me that “My grace (my unmerited
favor and mercy) are sufficient (more than enough) for you (in any situation).
Grace, hmm ... sort of feels like rain!
All week long it’s been raining here when we’ve been
praying for rain to calm the fire storms in Canada. It was when it was raining that feelings were
covered by grace, and faith won the victory even though we’re still waiting for
answers.
How we responded to God’s grace is what determined how we
reacted to situations. Things that were
trying our patience turned into laughter and photo opps (opportunities).
My husband pointed out that God’s mercy holds things
together, but at the same time His mercy (unmerited favor) grants us Daily Favor through His love and grace.
Rain (water) is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and God’s
been pouring Himself out to us since we first believed in Jesus as the Son of
God. How easily we forget when feelings
try to convince us that what we see is “reality” to God.
Grace and favor will come
when we believe.
This Week’s Challenge:
Focus on God’s Grace
Continuing in my Jesus journey, God reminded me to dwell
in that grace, favor and mercy that are abundantly mine. A long time ago when I first understood the
grace of God, He had me look at the verse in another light.
When I focused on the promise “… for a good future and hope” (Jeremiah 29:11) I heard the Lord
say, “My grace is sufficient and so is my
favor on the situation. Say it like
this: My Favor is sufficient …” (from 2 Corinthians 12:9)
Our challenge this
week is to let God’s grace fall on us like rain that falls from Heaven –
abundantly. Be mindful of the favor of
God that is poured out daily through His grace; it covers and is enough for
whatever we encounter.
You may be having a tough time right now fighting
feelings hoping your faith will win in the end.
If you’re truly seeking God, but are second guessing all your decisions,
don’t follow those feelings of doubt.
The devil is trying to confuse you and weaken your faith.
God hears you and will respond. You haven’t missed Him.
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,
says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me,
and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me,
when you search for Me with all your heart."
(Jeremiah 29:11-13 NKJV)
I’m here to encourage you to embrace the grace (favor) of
God on the situation as if it were rain. Believe grace is covering every part
of the circumstance and saturating it with the promises of God. In His time of favor He will answer you!
Thus says Adonai:
“In a time of favor I will answer you. In a day of salvation I will help you. I will keep You and give You (meaning Jesus) as a covenant to the people, to restore the land, to make them possess its desolate inheritances… “ (Isaiah 49:8 TLV)
“In a time of favor I will answer you. In a day of salvation I will help you. I will keep You and give You (meaning Jesus) as a covenant to the people, to restore the land, to make them possess its desolate inheritances… “ (Isaiah 49:8 TLV)
Look at the other “arm” (side) of the problem, and you’ll
notice things look entirely different.
God loves you. His grace and mercy is proof that He is a covenant
keeping Lord.
God remembers His promises … do you?
Stop focusing on what your physical eyes see and refocus
on what God says. You have God’s grace and favor
raining on your life for a good future; it’s more than enough to see you through
your journey with Jesus.
Your Grace is Enough by Chris
Tomlin with lyrics
Grace Like Rain -
Chris Tomlin
If this article has encouraged or helped you, please
consider sharing it by using the social media icons provided at the end of this
post.
Until
next time, today’s favor forecast calls for rain!
“My favor is enough.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: 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 geared toward spiritual awareness.
What’s New This Week: Click on book or
link.
Rejoicing
in Jesus on Life's Journey
by
Kerry Johnson
Available
in Hardback & eBook formats.
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
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Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Gateway Bible.Image credit: Google Images Creative Common License if not specified.
Image: Shower Cat Refocus Grace Like Rain GIF
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Tags: Your Grace is Enough, Grace, Faith, Favored1, Hubby, Jesus Christ, Daily Favor Blog, Faith Fear, Christian Living, Chris Tomlin, Kerry Johnson, nada, Fire, Hope
Happy 5 Years! Thank you for helping so many people.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda. Loving the journey!
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