It is God who grants us favor with men

SCRIPTURE:

 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king. Nehemiah 1:8-11

OBSERVATION:

Many Christians avoid reading the Old Testament, but it is in fact rich in helping us understand God’s character and reveals to us how He deals with people. In His promise to the people of Israel through Moses, God assured them that they would be scattered among the nations if they were unfaithful, but even then, if they returned to Him and obeyed Him again, God would bring them back to their home land.

For us, even though we are under the new covenant, the principle is the same. Some of us found Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life, but we became choked by the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth or the desires for other things, and left the narrow way to salvation in pursuing God’s kingdom and His righteousness. However, if we, like the prodigal son, come to our senses and return back to God and seek to please Him, He is faithful, and will bring us back to fellowship with Him.

Nevertheless, although we know God is merciful and longsuffering, we must never take the grace of God for granted lest we come to a point where we are no longer able to turn back. Many in the church today think that just because they have said the sinner’s prayer at some point in time, they can do whatever they like henceforth and make it to heaven. Do not be deceived! The Scripture is clear that those who keep on sinning as a way of life will not inherit the kingdom of God. As we walk on this earth, we do fall into sin, but we who are truly in Christ Jesus do not keep continuing to sin as a way of life, and our desire is always to grow in righteousness by following the Holy Spirit’s leading so as to please God more and more.

God promised to bring the repentant of Israel back to the place He had chosen as a dwelling for His name. This reminds us of God’s desire to stay together with us, which is the whole purpose He sent His Son to die on the cross that we might be redeemed. The whole Bible is the story of God’s plan to bring a people to Himself who will love Him and revere Him and stay with Him forever.

In the last part of this Scripture, we also learn from Nehemiah’s prayer that God can and does cause others to favor His servants. It is thus a good and fitting prayer to ask God to give us favor in the presence of others, be it our teachers, superiors, colleagues, or anyone with whom we come into contact with. We need to remember though, that Nehemiah asked for this favor not for selfish purposes, but for the good of His people. Hence, the purpose for favor upon us should not just be for personal motives, but to glorify God with our lives.

APPLICATION:

Praise God that He is faithful and forgiving and accepts anyone back who returns to Him in humility and honesty. If we are strayed away from Him, return back quickly, and find His favor and forgiveness again. Praise God for His great plan to bring us to Himself through His Son that we might stay with Him and be part of His people. Desire and pray that we might learn to live according to His will more and more. Pray for God’s favor in the presence of others we come into contact with, that we might glorify Him, and be a blessing to more and more people.

PRAYER:

We praise you and thank You, Heavenly Abba Father, precious Lord Jesus, for calling us to become part of Your family, to have that great destiny of being able to stay with You as Your people. For those of us who have strayed from you, we pray that You bring us back, and forgive us as we return to You. Help us O Lord, and give us a strong desire to live life in a way that pleases You more and more. We pray to You too, Lord, for your favor in the presence of our teachers, our superiors, our classmates, our colleagues, our friends, that we might be more and more a blessing to them in a way that glorifies You. We praise You and love You and thank You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.