100 Days Of Favor (31 page)

Today’s Prayer

Father, strengthen me today and uphold me with Your righteous right hand. Give me a greater sense of Your abiding presence, so that I will not fear, but be able to face all my challenges today with boldness and courage, knowing that You are my help, my wisdom and my strength. All I need to do is walk in the victory that Jesus has already won for me.

Today’s Thought

I won’t be afraid for God Almighty is with me!

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 71

As Jesus Is Today, So Are You!

Today’s Scripture

’Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. —1 John 4:17

I
T IS WONDERFUL
to know that God does not measure and judge you based on your performance today. Instead, He looks at Jesus, and as Jesus is, that is how He sees you. His Word declares that “love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because
as He is, so are we in this world.
”

As new covenant believers, we do not have to fear the day of judgment simply because all our sins have been completely judged at the cross, and as Jesus is, so are we!

As new covenant believers, we do not have to fear the day of judgment simply because all our sins have been completely judged at the cross, and as Jesus is, so are we! Notice that it does not say that “as Jesus was on earth, so are we in this world.” That would have been amazing enough because during Jesus’ ministry on earth, healing, blessings and abundance followed Him everywhere He went. Yet, that is not what the Word says. What it says is, “as Jesus
is
” (notice the use of the present tense). In other words, as He is
right now,
so are we in this world.

What a powerful revelation! Just consider where Jesus is today. The Bible tells us:

…He [God] raised Him [Jesus] from the dead and
seated Him at His right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

—
E
PHESIANS
1:20–23

Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand today, in a position of power and authority. If I were you, I would take some time to meditate on this passage because the Bible tells us that as Jesus is, so are we right now, in this world. Meditate on how as Jesus is “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,” so are we! See it in God’s Word for yourself. See yourself as Jesus is, far above every principality and power, far above every disease and physical condition, far above every kind of fear, depression and addiction, and begin to reign over every negative situation in your life today!

Today’s Prayer

Father, I thank You for placing me in the best position there is in the universe—in Christ at Your right hand in heavenly places! Therefore, I am far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come! As Jesus is healthy, wise, victorious and successful today, so am I right now in this world!

Today’s Thought

I am seated with Christ at the Father’s right hand, far above every known or unknown problem!

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 72

Trust God, Not Man Or Self-Effort

Today’s Scripture

…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength… —Jeremiah 17:5

T
ODAY
I
WANT
to show you the difference between a blessed man and a cursed man. The Bible is amazingly clear on how you can be a cursed man and what a cursed life looks like. God’s Word also shows you a picture of a blessed man and how you can be that man.

Let’s start with how one can be a cursed man. Jeremiah 17:5 tells us that when a man “trusts in man” and not in the Lord, he becomes a cursed man. To trust in man also refers to someone putting confidence in his own good works and efforts, claiming to be “self-made,” choosing to depend on himself and rejecting God’s unmerited favor.

We can never bring about good success that comes from God by depending on our self-efforts.

A man who “makes flesh his strength” is also cursed. When you see the word “flesh” in your Bible, it does not always refer to your physical body. You have to look at the context of the verse. In this context, “flesh” can be paraphrased as “self-effort.” In other words, we can read verse five as “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes
self-effort
his strength.”

My friend, there are essentially two ways to live this life. The first is for us to depend and trust entirely in the Lord’s unmerited favor, while the other is to depend on our efforts, and strive and struggle for success. We can never bring about good success that comes from God by depending on our self-efforts. No matter how we strive and struggle, we cannot work for our own righteousness or attain our own forgiveness. Any success that we may achieve is only partial success.

On the other hand, God’s kind of success is complete, whole and permeates into every facet of our lives—spirit, soul and body. God’s Word says, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22). God never gives us success at the expense of our marriage, families or health. Like I always say to the business people in my church, don’t use all your health to chase after wealth, only to spend all your wealth later to get your health back! Which man is enjoying greater prosperity? A man who has a fat bank account but is flat on his back with sickness, or one who may not have much in his bank account but is enjoying divine health?

Look around you. It is clear that true prosperity and good success cannot be measured in terms of how much money we have in our bank accounts. With the unmerited favor of God, the man who may not have much at this point in his life
will
experience good success.

Health and wholeness in your physical body are part of God’s blessings. If you are constantly under tremendous stress and have regular panic attacks because of the nature of your work, then I would encourage you to take a step back and seek the Lord’s counsel. Stress robs you of health, whereas good success from the Lord causes your youth to be renewed.

When you depend on your efforts, you can struggle for many years and get only a certain measure of success. But God’s ways are higher. With just one moment of His favor, you can experience accelerated blessings and promotion that years of striving and struggling can never achieve.

Look at Joseph’s life. He was nothing but a lowly prisoner. Yet, within an hour of meeting Pharaoh, he was promoted to the highest office in the entire Egyptian empire. Beloved, even if you are down and out (like Joseph was) at this point in your life, the Lord can promote you supernaturally in an instant when you choose to put your eyes on Him!

Today’s Prayer

Father, I don’t want to put my trust in man or my self-efforts. I choose to put my trust in You and Your unmerited favor. Help me to depend on and see Your goodness and grace toward me every day, so that I can experience Your good success without the stress. I thank You that one moment of Your unmerited favor can cause me to experience accelerated blessings and promotion that years of striving and struggling can never achieve.

Today’s Thought

One moment of God’s favor yields far more than years of hard, stressful labor.

Today’s Reflection On Favor

DAY 73

A Man Under Grace Sees And Appreciates His Blessings ?

Today’s Scripture

…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength… For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes… —Jeremiah 17:5–6