SEE YOURSELF HIGHLY FAVORED

The sweltering Egyptian Sun blazes down on the bustling market. The distinctive scent of aromatic spices wafts over the countless rows of merchants calling out there wares and treasures brought hear from far and wide... Everything, from the intricate creations of precious metals to livestock, has a price in fact, a slave can be yours for 20 pieces of silver...
Amid this hustle and bustle in the main square by the fountain stands a young man of about 17 years old, his neck and his hands bound firmly with coarse ropes. From the rope burns across his wrist and around his neck, you can tell that the merchants have not been kind as they hurried to reach the market in time to put their prize on display...The young man is dazed from so many days off walking. His legs keep buckling beneath him, his arms are weary from the constant tugging and his mouth is parched from the dry desert winds. He is in a foreign land where people speak in an incomprehensible tongue. With nothing to his name, not even a loincloth to cover his modesty, he is bound and displayed, completely naked. In a short while he would be inspected like an animal against his will, and sold into a lifetime of slavery.

- Joseph Prince, Unmerited Favor

I spoke this past week on being Highly Favored and most people would say the young man described above does NOT look HIGHLY FAVORED!  We could all agree that if that's favor, I don't want it! But the Bible says God Himself called this young man, Joseph, a successful man! (Genesis 39)

Joseph was so successful he wound up in JAIL! 

20 So Joseph..was there in the jail. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. (Genesis 39:20-21)

Why did God ever call this guy successful or favored?! Didn't God see what was happening to poor Joseph? Didn't He care that this innocent man was IN THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE?

Maybe you're in the fight of your life like Joseph...if you can relate to getting one raw deal after another then there's good news for you: Joseph's story took an incredible turn and he went on to be second in command over the nation of Egypt!  And just like Joseph, God calls YOU successful and favored!  

God's favor isn't based on what you've done or even your circumstances, it's based on what Jesus did on the cross! Jesus paid the high price for your FAVOR, BLESSING, RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS and more when He died on that cross! There's nothing you need to do to get these things.  Because of Jesus, God went ahead and gave them to you! And even if you do something stupid, you still have them!  If God's favor was based on your own hard work and achievements then His favor would only be temporary but David says, "His FAVOR lasts a lifetime" in Psalms 30!  

When you're in the fight of your life, begin to look for God's FAVOR! Choose to see where God is blessing you! Maybe all you can see is that you seem to get a good parking spot wherever you go. Thank God for that parking spot, as insignificant as it may seem, and soon you will begin to see more and more of these "coincidences" happen for your good! Because it's not just believing for the sake of being positive, it's believing what God promised YOU! Believe what God says! God can work with your belief: it's called faith and faith is what you "see" spiritually. 

God knows your circumstances. God cares for you and wants the best for you! Sometimes God works quickly, sometimes He works slowly but either way He ALWAYS has a plan for your life and that plan is called HIGHLY FAVORED! So take the first step into this world of blessing:  begin to see yourself as highly favored...because you are!