Temperamental Favor

Read: Exodus 1-2 & Acts 1

“Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Exodus 1:8

Examine:

Pharaoh extended great privilege to the people of Israel based on his respect for Joseph and his God. They greatly multiplied and life was good. Then leadership changed and in one sentence their whole earthly existence shifted. This is an extraordinary example of the temperamental and temporal nature of man’s favor.

Apply:

There are seasons of life that are quite peaceful and restful. Things seem to move along with ease, circumstances remain stable, and people seem to offer their favor. In these moments it is really easy to take my eyes off of God and put them on my circumstances. I begin to trust God because everything is going my way and my life makes sense. This is a really risky form of faith. It is risky because the circumstances of my life can shift in the matter of seconds. This morning I almost T-boned a car that pulled out in front of me. In 90 seconds I would have gone from laughing with my kids as I dropped them off to school and would have found myself sitting in the midst of a mangled mess counting fingers and toes.

Life is temporal but God is not. He was in the beginning, He is now, and He will be in the end. He never changes. He is longsuffering and good. His favor on my life is based on the righteousness of His Son that was imputed to me on the cross. That will never die. It will never shift. There is nothing of man that can come near it and the God of Heaven has sworn He will never take it away. Regardless of good or bad, I must press past my circumstances and find my joy in my relationship with the God of my circumstances.

Pray:

My heart is full this morning. Your presence is so near and I sit captivated, just as a child staring at the greatness of his dad. I am grateful to know You, honored to serve you, and blown away by how much You have given to me. My life is Yours. The temporal things of this earth have proven to be most unstable. In the midst of that You have proven that You never fail. You know my end from the beginning. I trust You to lead me in the way everlasting, to forgive me when I refuse Your request, and to redeem me when setbacks come. My deepest desire today is to see Your glory come through the life I live. I am blown away to think that You desire the same for me as well. Thank You for seeing in me what I fail to see myself.