Today we continue our series entitled, “Back to the Bible,” with Part 54. We have been looking at Psalm 119. Let’s continue to walk through this amazing psalm.
David said:
The Passion Bible Translation
(v.173) Place your hands of strength and favor upon me, for I’ve made my choice to follow your ways.
David asked God for strength and favor, because he had already decided to follow his ways. Today I will discuss divine strength, divine favor, and the power of being settled in your decision to follow Christ.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God’s grace gives you access to His ability.
a) While many people refer to the grace of God as God’s unmerited favor (and it is), God’s grace is also His power on, in and through your life. When you yield to the grace of God, God is able to do, through you, what you could never do on your own.
b) God’s grace is His ability, flowing through you, equipping, enabling and empowering you to do what you could never do without Him. God’s grace empowers you to operate in ways that far exceed human power, ability and strength.
c) One of the greatest aspects of God’s grace is that it is unearned. Not only does God’s grace come to empower you to operate past your ability, but it also comes free, offered to you well past your eligibility. God’s grace will enable you to do what you are not humanely able to do and it will bless you in ways that you are clearly not eligible for. Grace is unmerited, unearned, and almost always undeserved. This is what makes God’s grace truly amazing.
2. God’s grace gives you access to His favor.
a) God’s favor can do more in a minute than your labor could do in a lifetime.
b) The favor of God will cause people to use their power, ability, influence and money to bless you in ways you cannot bless yourself.
c) The favor of God will open doors no man can close and close doors no man can open.
d) We are called and commanded to walk and live by faith. Faith begins where the will of God is know. Faith requires the knowledge of God’s will and then a commitment to launch out into the will of God, despite a lack of sense-realm evidence to support your activity. Faith is something you say, something you do, or a seed you sow, based on something God said. Essentially, faith is the believer’s response to God’s grace. But favor is different. When the favor of God is in operation in your life, the blessing comes without your faith. You did not say anything, do anything or sow anything. You did not even pray for it. You never asked God to do it. When it’s favor, it’s God blessing you just because He wants to. It is God going out of His way to perform His will in your life without you doing anything to initiate it. Thank God for His favor.
3. There is power in making your decision for Jesus “past-tense.”
a) David said that he had made his choice to follow God and his ways. There is power in making your choice. When you resolve in your heart to follow Jesus, and you are not waffling or wavering about it, you are free to move forward in Christ and you will not be moved when challenges come.
b) People who are wishy-washy about their decision for Christ are people who will also be wishy-washy in every area of their lives. But when your decision for Christ is settled, when you have moved it over to the “past tense” category, you are then in position to focus on becoming the man/woman you were born to be and leaving the mark you were born to make. So please don’t waver on this decision. Choose Christ, settle on this decision in your heart, and move on to the weighter aspects of your walk with Him.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I open my heart to Your grace. You empower me to do what I could never do without You. Your Super on my natural enables me to operate in the Supernatural daily. Where my ability ends, Your ability kicks in. There is nothing You cannot do. You live in me. Therefore, there is nothing I cannot do. Your favor goes before me and blesses me in ways I didn’t even ask for. You bless me well beyond my performance. You empower me to operate in ways beyond my ability and You bless me richly in ways that far exceed my eligibility. You do this simply because You love me. You do this by Your amazing grace. So I enter this day ready to receive, to release, and to impact the world in ways that are far beyond me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
