God's Favor: A Season of Replacement

Trees along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Bedford, Virginia

October 30, 2013

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host
appeared with the angel,

praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men

on whom His favor rests."

- Luke 2:14

You will arise and have mercy on Zion;

For the time to favor her,

Yes, the set time, has come.

- Psalm 102:13

For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;

With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

- Psalm 5:12

Jesus said to him, 

"If you can believe,

all things are possible to him who believes."

- Luke 9:23

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is in me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion--

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise,

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of His splendor.

- Isaiah 61:1-3

Enlarge the place of your tent,

And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;

Do not spare;

Lengthen your cords,

And strengthen your stakes.

For you shall expand to the right and to the left,

And your descendants will inherit the nations,

And make the desolate cities inhabited.

- Isaiah 54:2-3

O God, be merciful unto us, and bless us;

and cause his face to shine upon us.

O God, bless us with Thy favor.

- Psalm 67:1 

(James Moffatt translation)

I have never read any of Barbara Kingsolver's books, but from seeing some quotes and excerpts of her writings, I can tell that she is one writer I can definitely learn from.

The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.

This quote speaks so much to me... especially so because from what I know of Barbara's life, she has had her share of adversity and trials. And yet she writes from the point of view of a victor, and an overcomer, not one defeated or weighed down by the circumstances of life.

This quote also very much sums up what is on my heart as another month comes to an end.

My way of saying good-bye to the month is to look back over the past four weeks and get the overall personal message of Abba Father for me, by re-reading the stories He has written in my heart.

There are too many events... impossible for me to remember them all. Therefore, I don't look back at the past days by simply trying to recall details but rather,the special gift that the month leaves in my life.

I take the good advice of Cesare Pavese who has penned these beautiful lines:

We do not remember days, we remember moments.

The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.

In the moments that my heart remembers I listen to the life-giving message my Father has for me.

I try to do this as a matter of habit because it is so easy to fall prey to the deceiving words of the enemy of my soul. It is easy to forget that in each event of my life, whether fortunate or not, is an opportunity to remember the eternal goodness of God.

In this my 60th year, I can only say that even if life has dealt me some painful blows, God has never withheld good. Each experience has been hand-made, custom built by my wise Father to shape and mold me into His image... if I will have the heart to understand what He is doing.

He is my Father, I am the clay, He is the Potter... I am the work of His hand.

   

A few days ago, my daughter Obedient One was about to leave Manila for Miami, Florida where she was to board a three day cruise to the Bahamas. She has traveled a lot around Asia, but this was her first time to embark on an overseas trip to the United States.

Her point of entry was JFK in New York, where she was also to board her connecting flight to Miami. She was at the predeparture lounge in Manila and we were exchanging text messages. 

It was only then that we realized the itinerary she had chosen allowed her a mere hour and a half layover time in JFK. Even with everything going smoothly, it was not going to be enough for her to go through immigrations, customs check, and traveling by shuttle to another terminal for her connecting flight.

I began to track the flight on the web, and found out that her flight was impacted by about a half hour delay at Narita, Japan... and she was surely going to miss her next flight.

She had to get on the next available flight... but I wasn't sure if she would know what to do once she reached JFK.

And the million dollar question was, would there still be another flight to Miami that same evening?

I searched for flights, and found out to my relief, that the next flight to Miami would leave at 6:14 p.m., three hours after her arrival.

My sister called Delta and requested for Obedient One to be rebooked on the next available flight to Miami, because of the delay at Narita.

It was as easy as 1-2-3!

She was booked, and the next thing I had to do was to make sure she got this information.

I didn't want her to get off the plane, not knowing she had been booked on the next flight, thinking she has to rush through the point of entry protocol, worrying to pieces about missing her flight.

We weren't sure she would have wifi connection at once on her phone, so we sent her several text messages, praying that international roaming services would be activated by her service provider.

I sent a prayer alert to as many friends I could reach, and left it all in God's hands.

My own prayer to the Father that morning was brief: Father, You are the King, and you are her Father. She is a daughter of the King, and Your favor surrounds her like a shield. Cover her with with traveling mercies, and send angels to accompany her every step of the way.

If I must be honest, even after this prayer, my heart was not completely at peace. But I could do nothing more but entrust this situation to the Lord.

As it turned out, my daughter did get to read the text messages we had sent her even before she got off the plane.

She reached her boarding gate with more than enough time till her next flight.

Upon reaching Miami, Obedient One was met by my dear friend Lee Ann who was already by the carousel at the baggage claim. She and her husband brought my daughter to the hotel, and even had a packed dinner for her.

Only then could I heave a sigh of relief, when I knew that my precious cargo had already reached her destination.

I praised God profusely for how His favor never left Obedient One while she was traveling alone to this faraway land. She is quite capable, there is no doubt, yet a mother's heart always wants to be sure all will go well for her children, no matter what age they may be.

It was four years ago when God personally spoke to me that His favor surrounds each member of my family like a shield.

In September 2009, while I was traveling home from the UAE, Obedient One was held up at gunpoint outside our Manila home, just as she was about to enter our front gate. It was a good thing that a friend was with her that evening. Well, my daughter gave up her handbag without a fight.

When I asked her later if she was afraid, she said, "Never did I feel any fear for God's presence with me was so strong. But I was very angry. I wanted to kick that man... but thought it was probably not a wise thing to do."

Storming the heavens for days and weeks after that ugly incident, God's peace truly descended on my heart one morning when I prayed the Psalm 5:12 passage back to him.

For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;

With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

- Psalm 5:12

Whenever I am afraid, Abba Father reminds me of that time, and many other times, when His favor surrounded my daughter and she was kept safe in His arms of protection.

At various times, God would whisper to me:

Position yourself to receive My favor. Walk in the light of My favor.

And today, as another month is ending, I am reminded of this important life lesson I have learned many years ago:

Walking in the light of God's favor is just a matter of positioning.

The enemy would love to have us focus on the negatives surrounding our life... the lack... the sickness... the broken dreams... the failures... the shortcomings of other people... the unexpected misfortunes.

But I must refuse to listen to his long list of negatives, of things gone wrong. 

Walking in God's favor means I am seeing things the way He sees them, the way they are in heaven.

Abba Father wants His children to have an increase mentality, not a survival mentality... an abundance mindset, not a poverty mindset... God-dependence, not self-sufficiency... living under grace, not condemnation.

It is seeing myself as God sees me, "a powerful representation of Himself to the world, full of life and purpose, and overflowing with His goodness, ready to be His hand of blessing" in the lives of others. (Beverley Sheasby)

The enemy is a joy-stealer, but my Abba Father is the giver of every good and perfect gift with whom there is no shadow of turning or change.

He rejoices over me with singing.

He dances over me with joy.

Increasingly, as we are in the end times, I have to remember that we are no longer in a time of peace... we are in a time of war.

God is training His sons and daughters to do battle.  Living with the mindset of favor is so crucial to winning the war. The enemy's weapon is fear and discouragement, he is very good at psychological warfare. 

Truth is, the war has been won, and we are fighting from victory.

Earlier this year, God had spoken to me that this year I am leaving my season of grief and loss, and I am entering a season of replacement. A beautiful message of hope as I celebrated my 60th birthday.

 I am sharing one life lesson for each month of this year. This month I have shared about God's Favor. 

As Barbara Kingsolver says, figure out what you hope for... and live inside that hope.... not simply admiring it from a distance... but living right under its roof.

God's favor.

It  is what I am hoping for. It is where I live.

"Prepare for war!

Wake up the mighty men,

Let all the men of war draw near,

Let them come up.

Beat your plowshares into swords

And your pruning hooks into spears;

Let the weak say, "I am strong.'"

- Joel 3:9-10

What the Lord has Done in Me

Let the weak say "I am strong"

Let the poor say "I am rich"

Let the blind say "I can see"

It's what the Lord has done in me

Hosanna, hosanna

To the Lamb that was slain

Hosanna, hosanna

Jesus died, and rose again

Into the river I will wade

There my sins are washed away

From the heavens mercy streams

Of the Savior's love for me

I will rise from waters deep

Into the saving arms of God

I will sing salvation's song

"Jesus Christ has set me free"

Sharing twelve life lessons on my 60th year:

January 2013 - Restoration: A Matter of Perspective

February 2013 - Authenticity: A Matter of Trust

March 2013 - Celebration: A Way of Life

April 2013 - Relinquishment: A Journey of Faith

May 2013 - Abiding: The Anatomy of a Birthday

June 2013 - Exchange: My Weakness for His Strength

July 2013 - Divine Appointments: God's Surprise Visits

August 2013 - Worship: Hidden Riches in Secret Places

September 2013 - Longing for Things Unseen: Escape from Reality

October 2013 - God's Favor: A Season of Replacement

November 2013 - Honor: Creating Space