Thanks For the Favor

Genesis 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

The Lord was with Joseph and all was good. When God is "with" you His power is seen in your circumstances and His faithfulness to His promises is real and lasting. Never doubt it! In our world, we have cast dispersions sometimes unknowingly to the power of God and the truth of His Word when speaking to that power. God is God. Duh!! To doubt God is to dishonor who He is and what He can do. When we realize how much we need God we begin to realize how lacking we are and that realization doesn't match up with a prideful worldview. The following scripture in Matthew 19 says it all about God's power where Jesus said 26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” In the context of this scripture, Jesus shares the power of the reality of God's forgiveness of sin when questioned by a rich young ruler who thought his position could get him to heaven. Not so!

This helps us realize we must never look at what God has done and what God can still do as something that no longer exists. Why? Because the most powerful expression of God's power and God's promise is the power over death, hell, and the grave. We celebrate the birth of Jesus during this month but underestimate the magnitude of what happened when God sacrificed His son and laid our sins on Jesus. He then offered us this eternal life in glory and abundant life on earth as His promised and that promise still holds true today and throughout eternity. This warranty is forever and ever and never let the truth of it be lessened or compromised by our lack of faith.

If anything, our faith should be strong in the promises of God because we are living in the most awesome promise every day of our lives. All promises that follow the promise of salvation are pale in comparison in my opinion. Since I do have this opinion I very strongly believe in all the other promises of God and rely on God's power to live my life. This brings to mind "the favor of God" which the above scripture in Genesis shows was a reality for Joseph as he lived even in the court of a very "lost' Egyptian officer named Potiphar. Joseph served as a purchased slave in the court of Potiphar and God enabled Joseph to succeed in everything he did. Potiphar saw that God was with Joseph and continued to promote him more and more and that was the result of God's favor.

So what do we do with God's favor? We say "Thanks for the Favor" and live our lives to share the ultimate message of salvation to a lost and dying world. His favor compels us to serve and His power enables us to serve in His power. When we go out with this message we do not go in our own power, but in the favor of God as received through His grace. Jesus sent his disciples out, not in their own power, but in the power of God. Here is the verse where Jesus SENT them with His power and His blessing. Luke 14:23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.

Without God's power, we are powerless and His church is powerless as well. To deny his power as being outdated is a very worldly way of looking at our faith. Live in the power of the Holy Spirit and know that God will do great things through your life for His glory!!

The Pilgrimage Continues

David Warren