Favor

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen. 6:8 NIV)

Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned...the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (Gen. 39:4, 21 NIV)

Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. (Ex. 32:11 NIV)

If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." (Ex. 33:13 NIV)

"O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance." (Ex. 34:9 NIV)

And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men. (1 Sam. 2:26 NIV)

The angel went to [Mary] and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:28 NIV)

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:52)

Recently I was telling a prayer-warrior friend of mine about our family's search for a new home. She prayed that we would be favored by God. I'm not sure I've ever thought to pray for that. But it got me wondering about what that means.

One website explains favor as

...Favor is not always used in a comparative way toward others. It sometimes simply means that the one favored is shown kindness and treated with a generosity and goodwill far beyond what would normally be expected. This is generally the favor that we receive from the Lord. We are treated much better than we could expect...Also, it is important not to think of this favor in material or worldly terms. God's favor most likely will be given in spiritual blessings more than in material blessings. (http://www.learnthebible.org/favor-of-god.html)

So this is my prayer for you, for us, this week: that we would be favored by the Lord.

Mercy, Love, Compassion, Redemption, Grace-giving God,

For each of us there are in life decisions to make, challenges to face, difficulties to overcome. But You, who are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, know all these things and know each of us. For the gift of being held securely in the knowledge of your loving hand, we thank you. And, like Noah, Samuel, Mary, and others, we seek your favor. Show us kindness. Help us grow in wisdom and love. Pour out blessings upon us. And help us remember to rejoice exceedingly when we recognize your grace and favor poured out upon us. We pray boldly in the name of Christ. Amen.

Logjam

Spiritual logjam.

Angst.

Confusion.

Am I being stubborn?

Desiring discernment.

Wanting to do the right thing.

Not in unity with others.

My spirit all balled up.

My husband and I are making a major decision about a home for our family. I am one of a team of people searching for God's choice for a new pastor for our church. Two MAJOR decisions I am a part of, both with huge implications.

I pray for wisdom. I yearn for guidance. I cry out to God - HELP ME.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
⁴⁹ For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
⁵⁰ And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation. (Luke 1 NKJV)

My soul magnifies the Lord.

My soul MAGNIFIES God.

Magnify, God.

God gets bigger.

I get smaller.

More God.

Less me.

Less me.

More God.

Fill my confusion with you.

Help me know what to do.

Protect my thoughts.

Give peace to my spirit.

My spirit rejoices in God my savior.

He HAS done great things for me.

He is mighty.

His name is holy.

His mercy is on those who fear him.

Merciful blessings.

Merciful peace.

Merciful wisdom.

Magnified God.

May your will be done and your Kingdom come.

Amen.

Thorns

Recently I joined the Facebook "community" and since then have reconnected (intentionally) with a few friends from grad school and relatives I haven't seen in awhile. That is one of the nice advantages of having such a place - finding long-lost friends. But, then, sometimes that ability to reconnect is also a liability, as two people from a long time ago (in my life) have contacted me and wanted to be Facebook "friends."

These specific two people are guys I was involved with in one way or another at different times. [Fast forward 15-20 years and we're all married with kids. But that's not this story.] I remember each of these guys in the context of my shame at the choices I made with them. So, while I may be somewhat curious about how their lives have turned out, my larger reaction even after all these years is, "ugh. I thought I'd put that memory, that person behind me. And here he is showing up again, reminding me of things I would rather forget."

And it dawned on me the other day that the Evil One uses his whispers of "shame on you" and "I bet they haven't forgotten" and "you were sure dumb then" to pull me down. When the truth is that repentance is about turning away from sin and turning toward God. I made (and continue to make) my choice to be serious about my relationship with God. As that happens I continue to better understand God's love, grace, forgiveness and - get this - forgetfulness - in a way that I can't concisely put into words.

A guy at church calls all this emotional garbage "skubalon," which is a (real) Greek word meaning "refuge" and "things worthless and detestable." I would imagine that there are more people out there with a conscience, people who have made foolish choices that they now regret, people that would rather forget pieces of their past, especially their own set of skubalon. I keep having to remind myself that it's those things that Jesus came to forgive. Those places in our memories and hearts he came to heal. Those whispers for which he came to say, "Peace, be still." Those lives that he came to redeem from the Pit and point toward the Great Banquet Feast the Father has prepared for us. The Evil One would like to distract us from the reality of our identity, seen through the blood of Christ, as precious children of the King of Kings. When we acknowledge that those whispers are nothing but distraction, we can go on to embrace the Way, the Truth and the Abundant Life we are offered.

I was talking this over with a friend last night and she reminded me that maybe God has let me keep those ("I wish they were gone") memories to help me have more mercy and grace for others who are also making choices that are not of God. Maybe those thorns I carry help me to be more compassionate to others who are still tangled in the thorny bush. Maybe the Crown of Thorns is a symbol of all that skubalon being nailed to the Cross and we bear it no more, praise the Lord!

My prayer for each of us is for forgetfulness...for redemption...for skubalon forgiven...for freedom from thorns carried many years and many miles...for a tender and humble heart to extend grace to others and to ourselves...for the heart to know what is of Evil and what is the voice of God...for joy in the Lord to embrace the Abundant Life as God's Children, enjoying the heavenly feast with Jesus...Maranatha, Lord Jesus, Come.

"...Anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins." (2 Cor. 5:16 MSG)

(P.S. I am so grateful to God for my husband and the life I'm living now. Evil's whispers and thorns come and go, but the bigger and better parts of my life are embracing the Abundance of Christ. I hope that if you are someone struggling with your own thorns, that this prayer will help you.)