Bashan Ministries - The Light of God's favor

Most of us have faced challenges and obstacles that often seem insurmountable.

The hardship or challenge that seemed so overwhelming at the time could easily make one wonder why bother trying. It seems as if it was not worth fighting to overcome. The stress we can face seems to weigh heavily like a ten ton weight trying to crush and cripple us.

I have good news for you if you are going through some things like that. You are not alone (see 1 Corinthians 10:13) and God is working on something that will take you to the other side.

Many believers today are facing their toughest trials ever. It might seem as if they are never going to end. They may also seem to be getting worse each waking moment. Sometimes however, the night is darkest just before dawn.

If this sounds familiar, join the club! You may have wanted to quit. All of Jesus’ disciples wanted to quit and some did! When Jesus said some heavy words that were hard to digest, many of His followers walked away. He had offended them. Peter wanted to quit, but dicided to stay, because he knew there was nowhere else to go. You can read this in John 6:60-71.

A glib comment could be “Don’t quit”, but when you are hanging on in the white knuckle brigade and things seem to be going from bad to worse, that is not always what we want to hear. I could go several ways with this message. I could touch on current world events, the global economy and terrorism, but you know what is going on. I could say they are a “sign of the times”, but I want to go another way.

This is a time when God’s divine favor is breaking coming forth.

It is breaking forth like the way the rays of the sun break through the darkness in inclement weather. The skies are dull and overcast, clouds are heavy and dark and it has been raining non stop in what seems to be an eternity, when suddenly, a break appears in the clouds and a beam of sunlight appears as the clouds start to dispel.

This is how the favor of God manifests. Light starts shining through the darkness engulfing us.

Let us take a look at David as our jumping off point when the darkness was engulfing him. When he composed Psalm 34, he was in real trouble. He pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him away and you have to be in real trouble to pretend insanity! Even in such a plight, he said-

I will praise the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
I will boast in the LORD; the humble will hear and be glad.
Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me; let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:1-3.

Even when things seem impossible, it is possible to turn your mourning into dancing when you deliberately make a conscious decision to bless God like that. We can say what David said.

It’s not always easy, but it really does work!

The journey commences when you start seeking the Lord.

I sought the LORD, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

The Lord answered him! But that’s just the beginning. He delivered David from the things he feared! What you fear most will come upon you if you don’t deal with it. Seek the Lord about it.

That was before Calvary. If God did those things for him then, how much better off we are now because of Jesus.

I could break Psalm 34 down more, but here are a few samples.

Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him from all his troubles.
The Angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.
Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him! Psalm 34:5-8

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.
Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all. Psalm 34:17-19

We are the righteous. We have the assurance from God’s word that He will deliver us.

Psalm 91 reveals that those who dwell in God’s presence, beneath the shelter, protection and provision of His wings, will come out the other side smelling as sweet as roses.

God never said we would not have problems. He Said that we could see people fall like flies around us—but we won’t be touched!

The storm clouds will go and the sun will shine again.

Take a close look at all this wonderful psalm. It is really great and full of promise.

Let me digress a little now and take a look at a man whose own mother set the stage for his failure in life the day he was born. We’ll come back to David later.

She named him Yaʿbēṣ. We know him as Jabez. Little is known of his mother. She may have had a difficult childbirth or there could have been marital problems. She might have been widowed when Jabez was born. Whatever happened, she gives me the impression that she was a hurt, and bitter hardened women. I say that because of the name she gave a baby boy, saying that she bore him in pain, one of the meanings of his name. Other meanings include to grieve and he makes sorrowful.

And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 1 Chronicles 4:9

Imagine starting life with such a stigma of a name. This boy grew up under such a cloud with his brothers and I suspect he was the youngest, so sibling rivalry could have been intense. Many people would collapse under such pressure and want to shrivel up and die, but he did not! He was a winner! His well known prayer is found in 1 Chronicles 4:10.

Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.

I like that prayer! What he asked for is what I ask for and hope you do also.

Bless me
Enlarge my territory
Let Your hand be with me
Keep me from harm (so that I will not experience the pain like my mother talked about)

This man could have grown up bitter, warped and twisted, blaming everyone (and God) for his misfortunes, but he did not. Such attitudes can lead to illness, more pain and more loss and so the cycle continues. Instead of succumbing to what I think we could call a curse on his life, he asked God to help him and God answered him. God was with him.

God is on your side. When David was seized by the Philistines in Gath, he discovered that.

Look at the psalm he wrote then! Note my emphasis.

O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long.
I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me.
But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.
I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?
They are always twisting what I say; they spend their days plotting to harm me.
They come together to spy on me— watching my every step, eager to kill me.
Don’t let them get away with their wickedness; in your anger, O God, bring them down.
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side!
I praise God for what he has promised; Yes, I praise the LORD for what he has promised.
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?
I will fulfill my vows to you, O God, and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.
For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light. Psalm 56:1-13

I hope you saw how much God really cares for you. Every time your cry, He catches your tears.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:2-4

Come with me now to Psalm 102 where the writer is also pouring his heart out to God when he is going through hard times and those black storm clouds have engulfed him. His cry is-

Adonai, hear my prayer!

Let my cry for help reach you!

Don’t hide your face from me when I am in such distress!

Turn your ear toward me; when I call, be quick to reply! Psalm 102:2-3

Both Jabez and David and many others in the bible went through really difficult times that could have crippled them and they all had one thing in common. They cried out, “Help!”

Sometimes we do not know what else to say. When you just do not know the “right words” to pray, what can you say? Sometimes we feel so down, we don’t even want to pray. It’s like the times we are Sick. Well meaning people can sympathize with you, tell you nice things, but all you want to do is be left alone and recover. God knows all about that and all He needs is the cry from the bottom of your heart for His Help. He is much closer to us than we often realize.

Here are a few scripture passages that reveal how much God listens to us. Psalm 4:1-4; 18:6; 91:15-16, Proverbs 15:29; Isaiah 58:9; 65:24, Zechariah 13:9, Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9.

In Revelation 5:8 and 8:3 we see that your prayers (the prayers of the saints) are presented before the Lord.

Our Psalmist was in despair and felt hopeless, but in verse 13, something changed when he begins to realize that God is about to move on his behalf. Things change, especially when you realize that God is for you. David told God saying,

You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come Psalm 102:13

Zion is a type of the church, so this also applies to you. There is a set or an appointed time for things. This set time is here. It is time for God’s favor to shine on you.

When the psalmist wrote that, he was experiencing a time of great affliction and adversity and had literally become overwhelmed by it all until he changed his attitude, the tone of his voice changed. When he did, things started to change. Only you can do that.

When he told God You will arise, I believe he looked at what God had done before.

When God’s people were overwhelmed, He always came through for them. We can take comfort in the knowledge that if God did it before, he will do it again. I like that phrase, “it came to pass”. Rephrase it to read, “It came...to pass.”

When God arises He goes into action and exerts His great power.

We ask God to arise, but sometimes we are the ones who have to arise!

The psalmist connected God arising to pouring out His favor. We can see a pattern or a principle in how God operates and thus what He is like with this outpouring of favor.

Call it The Pattern of Favor.

Throughout all of Scripture, when we read about God’s people facing perilous times, we see God’s favor poured out with deliverance and victory! The two go hand-in-hand.

When God’s people were held captive in Egypt, God’s favor brought them their freedom.

God told them,

I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed Exodus 3:21

When God poured out His favor on His people, the Egyptians couldn’t overwhelm or afflict them any longer! We see this pattern in the story of Joseph.

And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Acts 7:9-10

The same thing happened in Esther’s day and again in Daniel’s day.

There seems to be a Divine pattern in such things. Perhaps we aught to find out what this pattern is!

When God’s people are facing their most trying times, God pours out His favor to deliver them and bring a great victory.

You and I are living in a time when we need God’s favor poured out on us like never before.

The Apostle Paul saw it coming and wrote,

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 Timothy 3:1

The Amplified Bible describes it as,

Times of great stress and trouble, hard to deal with and hard to bear.

We’re in those times right now. That is why God is giving us this prophetic word-

Now is the time for the great breaking loose of God’s divine favor in your life!