Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Ask for God’s favour

By Ernest Onuoha
02 April 2017   |   3:44 am
First was Joseph, who was sold into slavery as a result of envy and man’s inhumanity to man by his brothers. What was his offence? He innocently told his brothers of his dreams and each ended up positioning him as a favoured one.

Ernest Onuoha

Today in our meditation, we are given the privilege to ask for God’s favour in our lives. The favour of God is unmerited, yet, when it comes ones way, burdens are lifted. Really, life is not about the amount of struggle we put in, but about this favour of God. If not, how come those who carry timber or do tedious menial jobs earn less?

However, the Bible says: “it is not by power nor by might but my spirit says the Lord of hosts”, (Zech. 4:6). Interestingly, the Bible is replete with examples of men and women who received favour from God. Let us briefly consider these three in that order.

First was Joseph, who was sold into slavery as a result of envy and man’s inhumanity to man by his brothers. What was his offence? He innocently told his brothers of his dreams and each ended up positioning him as a favoured one. To ensure it will not come to pass, they sold him away to the Ishmaelite, who in turn sold him to Potiphar in Egypt. Potiphar as a weak investigator accepted hook, line and sinker a tale told him by his wife that Joseph wanted to sleep with her. Of course, this landed Joseph in prison. However, providence smiled on him, when he interpreted Pharaoh’s Dream and that alone catapulted him to second in command in Egypt after Pharaoh. Yes, it was God’s favour that saw him from prison to Prime minister. What a finger of God!

Second was Esther, who was raised by Mordecai. Although an orphan, but God’s favour came upon her, when Queen Vashiti made a mistake by not presenting herself to her husband’s guests. Vashiti’s refusal in some cultures could have been applauded, but she forgot that king’s orders were not to be violated. So, her carelessness and tactlessness made way for Esther. Yes, Esther needed to receive God’s favour through another person’s mistake. Therefore, it is possible where you are working or studying God’s favour is about to come upon you because somebody is about to make a costly mistake for your own good. Alleluia!

Thirdly, we saw a clear favour of God on a young virgin called Mary. Historically speaking, at the time of her visitation, she was not the only virgin in the land. Yet, Angel Gabriel was insistent in his message to her: “and the angel came in unto her and said, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women”, (Luke 1:28). The content of the message from the Angel made her to be jittery. What was the message? That she will bare a son and His name shall be called Jesus. What was baffling to Mary at this point was that she was only betrothed and had not known any man. This singularly was a work of favour from the Lord, as the Holy Spirit would come upon her to bring about what the Angel had said. Listen, in your little corner, God’s favour is about to fish you out, and what you need do is to be humble and trust the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He is the only person that can cause one to move from grass to grace.

Fortunately, throughout the Christendom, today is being celebrated as Rogation Sunday, which is a day of asking from God about human needs. On this day, Jesus gave us an open cheque and says: “ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you”, (Matt. 7:7). Therefore, we should not keep quiet, but humbly go to Him in prayer with our needs. I am persuaded to believe that His favour shall be our portion today. So, brothers and sisters in the Lord, may you receive favour that will move you to the next level in Jesus name. Amen!

Ven. Ernest Onuoha
Rector, Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State.
www.ibrucentre.org

In this article

0 Comments