Devotions

Today, a lot of pastors define God’s favor as possessions, positions and acquisitions — better homes, cars and jobs, a happier family and a growing income. I believe God favors his people in this way but we short-change ourselves when we live for anything but his ultimate favor.

We all know about the biblical concept of a promised land — relief from bondage and the joy of a blessed life. The original Promised Land was a gift God gave to ancient Israel — a literal place called Canaan, a fertile land bursting with oversized fruits and flowing rivers.

This was the stuff of dreams for the Israelites who had been beaten down and exiled for generations. Yet when they arrived at Canaan’s border, God made an unusual statement to Moses: “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people” (Exodus 33:3).

God’s words to his people here may sound shockingly harsh, but in context, we see that God had freed Israel from 400 years of slavery in Egypt and now, on the cusp of their entry into the Promised Land, God said he wasn’t going to go with them because even after all the miraculous things he had done for them, they still complained every time they faced a new hardship. Sadly, their experiences and the miracles God performed for them never translated into faith.

But Moses’ faith was different! He knew the goodness of God, as demonstrated in all his supernatural works for Israel. In fact, the Lord’s favor toward his people seemed bottomless and Moses marveled at the character of God who mercifully performed all these things on their behalf. His attitude was, “Lord, if you won’t be there, then I’m not going.”

Moses understood that far greater than receiving blessings was experiencing the presence of the compassionate, loving God who bestowed them. He longed to see God’s glory — “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18) — and I pray that today you will have this same longing.

What can we do to enjoy the favor of God today? Is there a secret, and if so, what is it? Fortunately, there are clear biblical directions to guide us. The first obvious instruction from the Lord is that we are to ask in prayer for an outpouring of his favor. Remember what made Jabez stand out in his generation: “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me’” (1 Chronicles 4:10).

Jabez, it seems, could not accept the idea of living without the blessing of God. Please notice the emphatic words, “Jabez cried out.” His was no mere mental prayer, but the deep cry of a soul that could not live without an open heaven above him.

Jabez’s prayer reminds us of Jacob, one of the patriarchs of Israel, who also had a breakthrough time of prayer with God. One night Jacob wrestled with God-in-the-form-of-a-man and afterward uttered a sentence that has inspired many people throughout the centuries to fervently seek God for more. As the man sought to leave, Jacob responded, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26). 

This kind of passionate, desperate prayer is definitely out of vogue today. Maybe that’s the reason we experience so little divine blessing on both the church as a whole and her individual members. So often we seem content with the status quo rather than reaching out for more of God. Because of this, we seem to have little effect on the world around us.

I do not fully understand the mysteries of how a sovereign God answers the petitions of frail human beings, but it does seem clear that effective praying often involves more than just saying the right words. Seeking God with our whole heart is the kind of Bible praying that secures not just answers but the blessing of God that we all need. If Jesus himself prayed aloud with tears at times, then I can certainly feel free to pour out my own soul to God. And so can you.

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.

Surrender. In literal terms, surrender means to give up something to another person. It also means to relinquish something granted to you — your possessions, power, goals, even your life.

Christians hear much about the surrendered life, but what does it really mean? The surrendered life is the act of giving back to Jesus the life he granted you. It’s totally resigning your life over to his hands to do with you as he pleases.

Jesus himself lived a surrendered life: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). Christ never did anything on his own; he made no move and spoke no word without being instructed by the Father. “I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:28-29).

Jesus’ full surrender to the Father is an example of how we all should live. You may say, “Jesus was God in flesh; his life was surrendered before he even came to earth.” But the surrendered life is not imposed on anyone, including Jesus.

No one is forced to yield his life to God. The truth is, we can have as much of Christ as we want. The apostle Paul knew this and he chose to follow Jesus’ example of a fully surrendered life. Formerly a self-righteous Jesus-hater and persecutor of Christians, he said he literally hated Christ’s followers. He was well educated, a man of great self-will and ambition, headed for success. Yet the Lord took this self-made, self-determined, self-directed man and made him a glowing example of the surrendered life. Paul became one of the most God-dependent, God-filled, God-led people in all of history.

Paul declared his life a pattern for all who desire to live fully surrendered to Christ: “For this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” (1 Timothy 1:16).

Jesus lived his life on earth wholly dependent on the heavenly Father. Our Savior did nothing and said nothing until he first consulted with his Father in glory. And he performed no miracles except those the Father instructed him to. He declared, “As My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And … the Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:28-29).

Christ makes it very clear that the practice of total dependence, always listening to his Father’s voice, was part of his daily walk. We see this in a scene from the Gospel of John where Jesus saw a crippled man lying near the pool of Bethesda. Jesus turned to the man and commanded him to pick up his bed and walk — and immediately the man was made whole and walked away healed.

The Jewish leaders were enraged because in their minds, Jesus had broken the Sabbath by healing the man. But Jesus answered, “I only did what my Father told me to do.” He explained, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does” (John 5:19-20).

Jesus stated very plainly, “My Father taught me everything I’m supposed to do.” Jesus, in his flesh, had to rely on a daily inner working of the Father’s voice to direct him. He had to hear his Father’s voice hour by hour, miracle by miracle, one day at a time.

How was Jesus able to hear the still, small voice of his Father? The Bible shows us it happened through prayer. Again and again, Jesus went to a solitary place to pray. He learned to hear the Father’s voice while on his knees.

I encourage you to spend time with Jesus in a secret place of prayer. Sit quietly in his presence and you will receive truth that only Christ can impart through his blessed Holy Spirit.

Jesus asked a question in Luke 18:8: “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” I have always wondered at this question. What could the Lord mean? As I look around at the Church today, I think no other generation has been more focused on faith than ours.

Everyone seems to be talking about faith; seminars and conferences on faith are held across the country; books on the subject line the shelves of Christian bookstores. We have faith preachers, faith teachers, faith movements, even faith churches. Yet, sadly, what most people consider faith today isn’t faith all and God will reject much of what is being called and practiced as faith. He simply won’t accept it. Why? Because it is corrupted faith.

Many preachers today totally humanize the topic of faith, describing it as if it exists only for personal gain or to meet self-needs. “If you can dream it, you can have it.” This is earthbound, materialistic, and rooted in this world.

My message to those who truly love Jesus and want to live by faith in a way that pleases him is this: All true faith is born out of intimacy with Christ. In fact, if your faith doesn’t come out of such intimacy, it isn’t faith at all in his sight.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony” (Hebrew 11:1-2).

Several people of faith are mentioned in Hebrews 11 and we find a common denominator in their lives. Each had a personal, intimate relationship with the Lord. We see Abel (11:4); Enoch (11:5); Noah (11:7); and Abraham (11:8). All these men died in faith — the world simply was not their home.

Does your heart yearn for a closer walk with the Lord? Is there a growing dissatisfaction within you with the things of this world? Then seek the Lord himself! Spend time in his presence and your faith will grow.