Published by ENCOURAGEMENT: God’s Favour - A shield round about us.
Text : Esther 6 I got this picture : ’ I , a soldier on a war ground and I was fully girded up with the whole armour of God [as per Eph 6; 10 -18] – with the belt of truth buckled around my waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,my feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace,I had take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one and had put on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In addition to that I was praying all kinds of prayers- the spirit, in worship, with understanding…Then I saw over me, God’s banner of Love and there was yet another shield, so wide, so bright, so strong, round- about me… God described that shield to be His Favour’. Favour, even to a lay-man signifies support, act of kindness, good will, to show preference. One definition puts it as – ”bias at the expense of others”. This is how God treats His beloved - with bias, at the expense of others, and gives us grace whilst in the battle field. I thought to my self, if I could only wake up each day, with this mind-set & awareness – how strong a warrior I’d be; the many battles I would win; the many kings and principalities and powers I would invalidate every moment. In times of discomfort or despair, it appears to be so easy for us to loose sight of this truth not fact – that we serve a God who is for us and not against us; who is working…overtime as I would put it, for our good each moment, every hour.Surprisingly, we appear to be more aware of the wiles of the enemy, who is working hard at not just hurting us, but to kill and destroy us. It is this mind-set coupled with our lack of faith in God , that limits our experience of, or the reality of God’s favour, in our lives. Going through the verses of the text, God showed me how He works - whether we know it or not – behind the scene, on the stage, beside us, within us- all for our good. Because, as He said in His word: ’all things work together for our good, because we love him and are called according to His purpose’.He showed me the extent He would go, to make sure we do not cast our foot against a stone or stumble over it, even as we abide in His love and are not found wanting. He showed me that truly the heart of a king is in His hands and He can turn it whichever way He chooses…just for us. Esther 6:Vs 1 – He can cause the King of a nation to be without sleep; setting the stage for what God is about to do for you.Vs 2- He can open a book of remembrance for you; rewrite the chronicles or stories of a Kings reign to include great stories about you; He can even adjust the constitution for your sake.Vs 3-9 : - He can interrupt a King’s daily agenda and that of those in authority and cause them to start having lengthy and detailed discussions about you – how they can bless you, why they had not promoted you earlier, what is the best possible reward for you; even to the extent of deciding to give all the honour that should be accrue them to you.He can set confusion in the mind of the evil one, that rather than he curse you, He finds himself blessing you….now that’s worth laughing at.Vs 10- 12:- He humbles the evil one publicly and causes Him to bless and honour you publicly…confusing any friends the evil one may have out there and causing them to somehow pay allegiance to you as well. Hence, any plans they had made with the evil one, would definitely have to be averted.Vs.13 – More dishonour for the evil one, his wife and partners curse him – That is God causing confusion in the enemy’s camp.Vs.14 – God sets a table before you in the presence of your enemies. Your enemies do not get to sup, but are invited to a feast of their own destruction. His favour is not just for now, its for a lifetime. It is your glorious inheritance as a saint. It is one of the benefits of the covenant we have with Him.Today, God would want this mind to be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus – that you recognise that asides His full armour which He has already made available to you, His Favour surrounds you like a shield. If you have this mind-set, Surely, you will now make bold prayers and confessions; Surely, you will step out each day knowing who you really are and who is within you and what is about you. Surely, it will affect your confidence before man and before God; Surely, it will encourage you to take bold steps and leaps in the work set before you and even in ministry; Surely, you will worry less; Surely, you will be able to stand fast, on God’s sure word each hour and rebuke, refute and wage war against any appearance or event in your life that is so contrary to the promises God has for you. Surely, you will overflow with endless praise and worship and joy…and thus, be even more strengthened. We must know this, and grow in our being sure of this truth - that God’s favour is round about us as a shield from every evil.This is a good report worth thinking on. (Phil 4:8) Be Blessed. ~ Ifeoma ~
