Tag Archives: Daniel

Chapter-a-Day

Finding Favor

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English: God Appears to Noah, c. 1896-1902, by...
English: God Appears to Noah, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902), gouache on board, 8 15/16 x 4 3/8 in. (22.7 x 11.1 cm), at the Jewish Museum, New York (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chapter-a-Day Genesis 6

But Noah found favor with the Lord. Genesis 6:8 (NLT)

Favor [fey-ver] noun.

  1. something done or granted out of goodwill, rather than from justice or for remuneration; a kind act:to ask a favor.
  2. friendly or well-disposed regard; goodwill: to win the favor of the king.
  3. the state of being approved or held in regard: to be in favor at court; styles that are now in favor.

Favor is such a murky thing. There’s no reason given why Noah found favor with God. It never says that Noah was better than anyone else. It doesn’t say he had been faithful or particularly good or honest or deserving. Yet Noah received God’s favor. You see it in other stories across God’s message. Joseph finds favor with God, and Potiphar and Pharaoh. Daniel finds favor with God, and Nebuchadnezzar. Esther found favor with Xerxes and his eunuch. Peter, James, and John found favor with Jesus despite being total boneheads.

I don’t pretend to understand it, I don’t think there’s a formula for it, and I hope that my heart is never misled. Nevertheless, I know that finding favor with God and others can be  an important ingredient in accomplishing God’s purposes. When I pray for my children, I pray that they might find favor with God, with their teachers, and with their employers. I regularly pray for God’s favor and the favor of others. Then, I do my best to live and love so as to be worthy of it and prove grateful for it.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Jeremiah 27

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“I’m the one who made the earth, man and woman, and all the animals in the world. I did it on my own without asking anyone’s help and I hand it out to whomever I will. Here and now I give all these lands over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.” Jeremiah 27:5 (MSG)

The story of Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar is a curious one. He was not a good man. He was arrogant, proud, idolatrous, brash and selfish. He was a murderous tyrant. He made his own people worship him as a god.

And, at the same time, God was at work in Nebuchadnezzar’s life. God loved Nebuchadnezzar, and used Nebuchadnezzar to accomplish His will. Read the first four chapters of Daniel if you want more of the story. Just when I want to hate Nebuchadnezzar and dismiss him as an evil character of history, God confronts me with the truth that He had His own purposes for Nebuchadnezzar. He went to great lengths to reveal Himself to the man.

Sometimes, I look back and shake my head at the person I remember myself being many years ago. When I was younger, I’m pretty sure I was convinced that I had God all figured out. I’m sure I still act like I do at times. Forgive me. The further I get in the journey, the more I realize how foolish I am to put God in a box. God’s sovereignty is beyond the reach of my finite thoughts. His purposes are greater, deeper, and richer than I can possibly fathom.

How cool that God cared about a godless, corrupt King. How awesome that God’s purposes extend beyond even those who are graciously given the title of “God’s people.” How radical to stop thinking of my “enemy” as an enemy and start thinking of my enemy as a person God loves and for whom God has a special purpose. Isn’t that exactly what Jesus was getting after?

God, forgive me for trying to hold you inside the comfortable confines of my own limited perspective.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and origamijoel