The Uncommon Advantage Part II
by Randall Worley (Marketplace Ministry)
In the last newsletter we began to explore the subject of Gods favor in our lives. Favor as God intended was never meant to be experienced by a select few. It has been said, "Favor is Gods influence working through you that attracts people and possibilities to you so you accomplish your unique assignment". As long as you believe the lie that others have advantages that you don't have you will not experience the favor of God. You will fixate on your sense of being uneducated, unattractive, or unworthy and forfeit the favor that is rightly yours in Christ.
The most addictive substance on the planet is not sold by drug dealers but is something that all of us become addicted too early in life. Approval. If a person does not have a consciousness of Gods favor or approval, their life will be controlled by the approval and disapproval of others. They feel accepted when they perform well, and rejected when they don't. The assumption is that the way they "feel" is a confirmation of God's view of them. So they go through life begging for "undeserved favor". We believe God loves us, but has no value for us unless we do everything right. This logic says that doing everything right is the source of His approval. Our undeveloped capabilities become a source of frustration causing us to be condemned by what we should be able to do. If we reason this way it makes it impossible to access God limitless favor. We become trapped by our own personal efforts.
The truth is that He did not wait until our performance was good enough. Romans 5:8 says, "God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He loves you for who you are, not what you will become. You are the first you that ever was. You are the most qualified person on earth to do what you were chosen to do. Begin to accept the way God made you. When we begin to understand this is Gods attitude toward us it will change our attitude toward those around us.
The scripture says that we are to "find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man". (Proverbs 3:4) God’s intention is for favor to flow to you and then through you. Many Christians develop a persecution complex in the marketplace feeling that their job hinders their destiny without realizing that their job is Gods gift to them. Don't let your occupation hinder your destiny; instead allow the favor of God to shape your occupation by turning it into your ministry. From Joseph we learn that having favor does not guarantee that things will always go favorable for us. His brothers sold him into slavery; he was falsely accused by Potiphars wife, and was forgotten by those in prison that he helped to be released. The favor of God working through him made those he served outrageously successful even when they were not fair with him.
Don't allow conflict and criticism to conquer you. You can learn more about yourself from the criticism and mistreatment of your enemies that you will ever learn from the compliments of your friends. Like Joseph you have been placed where you are in the marketplace to bring transformation. If you work in an ungodly corporation where the spiritual climate is hostile, don't allow that to keep you from moving forward. I seriously doubt that your boss or fellow employees could be worse than the people Joseph worked for. From working as a shepherd, to being a slave, to being in prison he never stop learning. His attitude was never how can I get out of this job, but what can I get out of this. It may sound trite, but it’s not about what you are earning but what you learning at whatever level you are right now. No obstacle will ever leave you the way it found you. The occupation of a shepherd was considered to be the most demeaning and lowest form of employment by the Egyptians. Yet this is where Joseph started and favor promoted him to being the becoming the second most powerful man in all of the Egyptian empire. There is no one that gives you more trouble than you. Only you can hold yourself back. You don't need a change of scenery but a change of self. The things that you consider to be disadvantages or disabilities are only illusions that you have maintained of yourself. You can empower an illusion of yourself to the degree that it will control your entire life.
The scripture teaches that whatever you focus on will grow in your mind. When you focus on what you're not instead of what God says you are it becomes more real to you than the truth of Gods word. The psalmist said "Oh magnify the Lord with me" (Psalm 34:3). You can't make God bigger but you can experience more of His favor when you magnify who He is in you rather than magnifying your inadequacies. You have lying dormant within you an uncommon advantage that will enable you to accomplish what you have believed in the past to be impossible. Just change your focus and favor will flow through you.
by Travis Fowler
July 7th, 2008 (09:07)