God favours me!

         Admittedly, I can’t leave the story of Joseph just yet. Different ideas are coming out of his story for me and I can’t help but share them with you. 
         We have already established that Joseph had a tough life. He underwent unfair treatment that he didn’t deserve yet God’s favour did not cease to be upon him no matter what trial he faced. I am sure that while he was going through, he didn’t feel very favoured many times but he was. We too, face the same challenge. We go through so many things at times that we can’t see or feel God’s favour on us. It seems as if we are facing one bad break after the next to the point where we wonder if God is even there. But recently, God helped me to truly understand that He is very much there. We may feel as if He is only there when things are going good, but guess what, He is most certainly there when things are not. Think about it. The absence of negative in our lives doesn’t mean we are more favoured or that He is present only at those times. In fact, God helped me to realize that He is very much there even in the presence of negative circumstances, and that they don’t scare Him away, they can’t push Him away. In fact, even though we can’t feel Him, His presence gives us the strength to go through what we are going through. It gives us the supernatural ability to make it through the fire – even if we get burned! 
         But back to Joseph. I thought of the reality that he had been sent to prison because Potiphar’s wife had falsely accused him of rape. After experiencing a season of favour it seemed that the favour had come to an end ... or had it? In jail, the favour of God manifested again when the keeper of the prison put him in charge of all the men in the prison (Genesis 39:21-22). God’s favour had not disappeared just because he had a bad break. In fact, his position had changed from one of honor to dishonor, yet God’s favour was still upon him. Think about it. No matter where Joseph went and what he faced God’s favour upon his life remained and caused him to always find favour even in negative, humiliating situations. 
         Sometimes our challenges may seem to suggest that God’s favour has departed from us. Others may look at us and believe, like Job’s friends, that something must be wrong with us. Sometimes that may be the case because of sin, but that it isn’t always the case. As children of God, just because we face discouraging situations doesn’t necessarily mean that God has abandoned us even if at times it feels like that. God’s favour is still there and we know it because what we are going through doesn’t and cannot actually destroy us, God won’t allow it. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 says that “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed.” We may not be able to stop trouble from coming our way, but we can trust that God and His favour will be right there sustaining and keeping us through every challenge.
         Something else about Joseph’s story caught my attention that I had never noticed before. Joseph had been sent to jail because of a rape accusation. When he left prison his name had not been cleared! Joseph wasn’t released from prison because he had served the time for his crime. He wasn’t released because they discovered that he was in fact innocent and should be released. Joseph was released because he was able to interpret a dream. I prefer, however, to phrase it like this: Joseph was released from prison because it was time to step into his purpose, God’s purpose for his life! It therefore didn’t matter whether he had a prison record, whether or not his name had been cleared, it was God’s time for him to step into his purpose and nothing, not even a bad name, or a prison record could stop God’s purpose from being fulfilled in his life at that time. God’s favour had not left him!
         I don’t know what you may be facing. It may seem so hopeless, you may have even lost sight of your dreams, your hopes, your vision for your life. Maybe what God has spoken to you has become a distant memory in the face of all that you have been dealing with and it no longer seems as if it will ever happen. If Joseph could be released from prison with a bad name and reputation to become Pharaoh’s right-hand man because the timing was right, it means that when it is God’s time for you, no matter the chains or negative stigma, or impossible situation you might be in, God’s purpose for your life will be fulfilled! Joseph’s prison record could not stop him from fulfilling God’s purpose for him, neither will your impossible challenge stop God from fulfilling His purpose for you!!! You are favoured by God!
         If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as Lord and Savior, I encourage you to do so now. God wants to be a part of your life to favour you and sustain you in good and bad situations; when you do right and especially when you mess up; when it’s your fault and when it isn’t. As His child, His thoughts towards you will always be for good not evil; His plans will always be to prosper not harm you (Jeremiah 29:11). God keeps His end of the bargain even when we don’t and does what He can to draw us back to Him when we fail. I am so glad to have a God like that in my life. Wouldn’t you want the same for your life?

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