THE LORD'S FAVOURED ONE: HOW DO YOU KNOW THE LORD FAVOURS YOU?
PART 1
I will begin this with a quote from which most of my meditation will be drawn.
"The Lord's Favoured One will always be popular. But it does not mean you will like all the attention you get" –Edwin Mwintome Bozie.
How can I say this with certainty?
Know that the Lord will always boast about his favoured one before all his Heavenly Subjects.
Know that Satan is the Chief prosecutor.
Know that as much favour God has for you is directly proportional to the amount of special attention you will receive from the Devil.
If your life is always smooth and pleasurable, know that you need to start asking yourself some questions and vice versa.
The more Highly favoured you are, the more difficult your life will be.
The more Highly favoured you are, the less people will understand you.
The more Highly favoured you are, the more you will find people irritated by you for no good reason.
But the more Highly favoured you are, the more of the Mind Of God you will discover.
The more Highly favoured you are, the more pride will become your foe but know this;
A Lion does not measure itself by the standards of a kitten. Neither does God measure Himself by the standards of man so will a new creature measure itself by the standards of its predecessor?
FAVOUR: WHAT IS FAVOUR?
Basically, it means to receive special attention. Does this mean God has favourites? Here, our own vocabulary counts in deciphering the meaning. The Bible says God's love is without condition. If you have favourites, then you love something because of some special characteristics it possesses but God loves simply because He is Love. Trying to quantify God's love will lead you nowhere for God loves every man equally. Hence if the standard of God's Love is:
1+1=2
1 +any other number !=2 (Is not equal to 2),
Then it's the same for every man. In terms of passion, God loves each of us with the same passion, but it does not mean He loves us the same.
WHY?
If I came to you and said, "I am the Angel Of Death and this day, God has sent me to take away one of your parents, and it's non-negotiable so no amount of intercession can save them however, God has given you the privilege to choose which parent you'd wish dead" would you be able to choose?
You would say "Can't I keep them both?!"
Yet you know your mother gives you more attention. Your father is almost never at home yet send you gifts. The love you have for your mother is not the same in nature as the one you have for your father, yet you do not love one more than the other. You love one because she buys you more clothes and the other because he takes you out more.
Often, we prefer the parent who is not often around because he is more bearable, yet if we had to choose, we would find it difficult if not impossible.
So God has no favourites yet some people are more favoured than others.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE
I may love two friends equally within my heart. I can say I have two, three, or no best friends but there is always one friend or two you will talk about more than the others even when that person is not present. It does not mean you like your other friends less but those special few are the closest to the ideals you value yourself.
Guess what? It is the same with God. There are countless places in the Bible I know of that God speaks of special people he favours but I will make mention of four.
One trait of God's especially favoured ones is they usually appear at a time God is so disgusted with man that He plans to grievously punish them, or deliver them.
Noah is the first. Right after the Bible speaks of how grieved God was and how he repented of making man, it is said, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of God".
The second was Moses.
The third was Job. Job lived in a time where all people were wrong about the nature of God. Everyone believed that God favoured all who were well to do and anyone who lived a hard life was being judged for His sins, but Job prove otherwise because in the very first chapter of the Book Of Job, God Himself said of Job,
"there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil.
For the fourth man, He is so popular even if you do not agree with Him, you have definitely heard mention of his name; Jesus.
Jesus was born after God had threatened the Israelites for centuries starting from the rule of Jeroboam. Two times in Jesus' life God Himself said of Him;
"This is my Beloved son; in whom I find favour; listen to Him". It was Jesus of whom king Hezekiah said,
"This is your sign, a virgin is with child".
TRAITS OF GOD'S FAVOURED ONES
The first sign is, they are often prophetic; but what does prophetic mean here? It does not mean declaring something and hoping it comes to pass. It does not also mean hearing a voice no one else can hear. It means that, they are people so in tune with the nature of God, they relive his life on earth over and over again. They often do not give interest to the things of this world and they do not easily get attached to anything. They treasure their lives but realize they should not be attached to their human lives either for who knows from whom God may demand martyrdom?
They are so like God that the littlest things they say, at times things others consider trivial come to pass.
They could say on a dry day,
"It will rain today, and it does."
Or on a wet day,
"The weather is too hot" and even when it rains, the weather will be hot.
They could be at work and smell the food cooking at home. Very often, they have deep knowledge of the nature of man. There are others who do not speak much but important discussions never take place without them.
But of all these traits, the one thing they perhaps have more than others is a deep knowledge of their own sins. They are not ignorant of their sins. They do not pretend nothing is wrong and try to ignore their sins. They reflect on their sins but trust in the mercy of God above everything else.
You will seldom truly hear them ask God to take obstacles from their path. Instead, they pray for the strength to overcome their obstacles. But I would like you to note this lesson especially from Jesus:
"If possible, let this cup pass me by, but not as I will it but as you will it".
It proves Jesus' human nature more than any other thing He did. It shows that even He did not desire death but He received instead of avoiding it, the strength to overcome it from the Angel Gabriel who was sent to strengthen Him in the Garden Of Gethsemane.
NATURAL SIGNS THAT FOLLOW GOD'S FAVOURED
I have spoken about their interior traits, now I will speak of the visible signs that follow God's favoured.
The strength Of God shines from their faces and strengthens their countenance. This may lead others into believing them to be proud but like I said, "Would a Lion measure itself by the standards of a kitten?". This is often the root of their headaches.
In time, they spend little time trying to correct all the negative views others have of them and this leads them to suffer when wrongdoers suffer and be raised among the righteous.
They are usually found in the company of people older than themselves.
They do not rush but take each day as it comes, trying as much as possible to enjoy the littlest things causing them to be more thankful for their lives.
They often harbour a strong distaste for the standards of the world.
INEXPLICABLE BUT OFTEN NATURAL SIGNS THAT FOLLOW GOD'S FAVOURED
Their fortunes are often unpredictable as they themselves are often unpredictable.
No one knows where they come from but immediately they pass by, their presence is noticeable.
At other times, they could pass right by people without anyone around noticing anything significant until much later.
They themselves are often aware of certain signs that follow them.
Ex. Some never stop walking once they start until they reach their destinations because even vehicles give them way as they move.
Ex2. The rain reduces when some start to walk and only increases while they reach their destination. At other times, it in fact rains heavier once they start to move.
Animals give them special attention. The more the Light of God shines within them, the more even nature reacts to it.
SOCIAL SIGNS THAT FOLLOW GOD'S FAVOURED
They are often misunderstood.
The people around them who wish the best for them often contradict their goals.
At times, the things they say are frightening to others.
Those around them often contradict themselves in their quest to find a middle road. They may find your presence unbearable but feel your absence. They may tell you to pursue the goals God has set for you then tell you to stay within "human limits" aka what others find socially acceptable hence the "favoured" ones often prefer solitude. The kind from which Jesus would withdraw from the crowd to "a lonely place" where He could truly be Himself.
In time, they become even more unbearable because their standards become too high than others are prepared to meet.
THE REST WILL BE DRAWN FROM THESE THREE EXAMPLES.
NOAH:
He was the son of Lamech and grandson of Enoch whom God took away. Noah lived in a time where men were evil and demons were allowed to roam freely. Shortly before His birth, some angels from Heaven descended to Earth to profane the bloodline of God's chosen Messiah. While Enoch confronted those angelic beings and their children called the "Nephilim", the same ones other traditions call "titans", Noah had to deal with the antagonistic people that surrounded Him.
SIGN ONE:
BUILD AN ARK/WHAT IS IT YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND?/HE IS PERFECT/MY BELOVED SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED
How prepared are you? This sequence will show you how much man's knowledge of God matured and with this the signs God worked.
There is that one moment in your life when you will be lying on your couch sipping some tea and reading a newspaper when an illustration of God will just appear in your mind;
"Go sell everything and donate it to the orphanage"
That very moment God calls you, He will never demand anything humanly logical of you but he will never demand anything humanly impossible either.
God said to Noah;
Build an ark.
This was not a one day or one month affair. It wasn't something that made sense either, to build an ark on landlocked ground. It's not like Noah had the tech to push it into the sea even if the sea was around.
When God demands something of you, it will definitely consume your time, between the time the building starts and the ark is complete, Satan has all the time to tell you how many reasons your venture is "illogical/senseless/outright impossible". If you don't give up, mockery follows. All that time, it may seem God is silent. When God called Noah, he asked Noah to build something according to specific instructions.
I am calling you from a land you are familiar with into a land you do not know.
With those words, God called Abraham out of Haran, and out of "His father's house" to a land "God would show Him". A land God had not told him of. God told Abraham what to expect but not where He was going or what his destination would be. "God Himself would tell Abraham when He reached His destination". God's favoured obtain the title through proven faith. True intelligence is the ability to react appropriately to God's Divine Word. It is One with Wisdom.
What is it you have in your Hand?
The defining part of Moses' call. Most of us do not react to God's call like Abraham or Noah did but more like Moses did. When God called Moses, Moses did not really know God. There were so many gods in Egypt, he just had to know which one was calling Him. First He asked God;
"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?"
Moses was considering his status in society.
"Who am I that I should present myself before a king?"
God replied;
"I will certainly be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee. When you bring the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain". That was the same mountain from which the Decalogue was given to Moses, from which he'd depart from the Jews to commune with God.
Even after this assurance, Moses now asked for God's identity
God replied;
"I am that I am".
God now told Moses all He should say to gain the approval of the Israelites.
Moses still argued, "they will not believe me".
God asked,
"What is it you have in your hand?"
Moses said, "A rod"
God gave Him all the power to work wonders using just that rod then finally Moses argued,
"I am ineloquent".
Then God replied, "Who made the blind blind, who made the deaf and the dumb. Who gave man a mouth? Is it not I?"
This proves Abraham's point.
"If they will not believe in the prophets, they will not believe even if someone were raised from the dead."
No matter how many signs God works. Even if He appears Himself, we will naturally find innumerable reasons as to why his promises are "impossible even for him".
Hence James said;
"Without faith, it is impossible to please the Lord".
What is it you have in your hand?
What will you give God to use for the manifestation of His purposes. If he can use a rod, an ark, how much more can he use a person?
So why did God call Moses, a man of doubts?
Moses was compassionate. His heart went out to the oppressed. He identified with the Jews even though He was raised as Egyptian royalty.
Moses was good at handling the property of others. He took care of Jethro's flock as though they were his own.
He did not hesitate to defend others even if it endangered him. Killing an Egyptian was the reason He ran away in the first place and yet, in running away, He defended Jethro's daughters from rogue shepherds.
He was observant enough to notice the presence of God. Most people might not even have noticed the burning bush, not to talk of the fact that the bush itself was not burning. Most people might have shrugged their shoulders and paid little heed even if they did notice.
PERFECT MEN, PAINFUL LIVES.
Noah was jeered at, Moses was made depressed by the complaints of the Israelites but what happens when your God afflicts you and the people around you say;
"Look, he's been serving that God all this while and now, even his God condemns him?"
This is perhaps the ultimate test for God's chosen ones.
How does it all start?
A Heavenly meeting.
From the Book of job, the Bible makes us know that periodically, the Heavenly Beings gather to present themselves to God.
And of course, you should know the chief prosecutor will never miss a chance to "chook" people.
But in this case, it appears God brought it upon job.
God asked Satan;
Where have you been?
His reply,
"Here and there, up and down all over the earth".
God then boasted about how perfect Job is.
"Do you think you could find a fault with him?" God taunted the devil.
Already, Job was an annoyance in the eyes of the devil. The perfect example of how God rewards righteousness.
So Satan said, the only excuse he had;
"Why won't he be perfect if he has no reason to do ill. He isn't poor so he has no reason to steal. He never does anything wrong because he has everything so he doesn't have to lie. He has many children so adultery is something he'd never consider. You've built so many fences around his house, he has no reason to think ill of you. But take these all away and he will curse you to your face.
So the Devil brought a challenge. What did God do;
"I believe in Job so I put Him in your power to do with Him as you please but you are not to touch the man Himself".
In a single day, Job lost all his immense wealth.
His reply;
"The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away".
Then there came a second meeting in Heaven. Now it was God's turn to say;
"Aha Satan! You did all that but Job still praises me! Isn't he perfect?!
What did Satan say?
Already he was perfectly infuriated by the fact that His first plan failed.
"He has good health after all. A man can afford to lose everything but he would be willing to give anything for good health. Lay your hands on His flesh and bone now and he will curse you to your face!"
God withdrew more of his graces from Job.
"He is completely in your hands now to do what you want but do not hurt his life".
That moment, Satan went and smote Job. From the sole of his feet to the crown of his head, Job was covered in boils.
His suffering was so great the only conclusion the people around him could come to was he had offended God.
After arguing about whether Job had offended God or not and Job trying desperately to vindicate Himself, the only sympathy they could offer Him was;
"Look, this suffering of yours, is it not too much. Will it not be better to curse God and die?"
Job remained true and was vindicated by God himself.
THE ONE TRAIT THAT DEFINES A FAVOURED ONE IS PROVEN FAITH, NOT JUST FAITH