A.W. Tozer wrote, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” You may not like reading that (I don’t), but I’m realizing more and more that God works this way, and even though I don’t enjoy it, it’s for my good.

 

A little over a week ago, we started a new Sunday morning message series entitled, Finding Favor, with some basis in the book of that name by preacher and author Brian Jones. This past Sunday, Dean shared with us about God’s favor, and the fact that He intervenes supernaturally to bring blessings into our lives. This means, specifically, that God’s favor will help us become everything He created us to be in every area of our lives. As wonderful as this is, however, God’s favor will not keep us from experiencing personal hardship.

 

One of my problems (and perhaps one of yours as well) is that God’s blessing is often not what I want or even what I think I need. Favor rarely gives us what we want, but always gives us exactly what we need. If you’re like me, you pray for God to fix your problems instantaneously, but what usually happens is that God gives us a limp, as He did to Jacob when he wrestled all night with an angel, stating, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26).

 

As we go through our Finding Favor series this fall, we will examine unexpected ways that God blesses people with His favor. We will discover that God, in his favor, wants to do something in every area of our lives. Not good things, or even great things, but insanely great things, not just in one area, but in every facet of our lives. And God’s favor is rarely understandable or predictable. But it is always exactly what we need.

 

Troy Burns