Today, we continue our series entitled “Laser Focus,” emphasizing living with a Laser Focus on the Fixed Purpose God established for us before the world began.
(Proverbs 4:25 TPT)
Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions.
Scriptures for today:
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time
(Genesis 50:1-14 ERV)
50 When Israel died, Joseph was very sad. He hugged his father and cried over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph commanded his servants to prepare his father’s body. (These servants were doctors.) The doctors prepared Jacob’s body to be buried. They prepared the body in the special way of the Egyptians. 3 When the Egyptians prepared the body in this special way, they waited 40 days before they buried the body. Then the Egyptians had a special time of sadness for Jacob. This time was 70 days.
4 After the time of sadness was finished, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s officers and said, “Please tell this to Pharaoh: 5 ‘When my father was near death, I made a promise to him. I promised that I would bury him in a cave in the land of Canaan. This is the cave that he prepared for himself. So please let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back here to you.’”
6 Pharaoh answered, “Keep your promise. Go and bury your father.”
7 So Joseph went to bury his father. All of Pharaoh’s officials, personal advisors, and all the older leaders of Egypt went with Joseph. 8 All the people in Joseph’s family, his brothers, and all the people in his father’s family went with him. Only the children and the animals stayed in the land of Goshen. 9 So there was a large crowd of people with him. There was even a group of soldiers riding in chariots and some on horses.
10 They went to Goren Atad, east of the Jordan River. There they had a long funeral service for Israel, which continued for seven days. 11 When the people who lived in Canaan saw the funeral service at Goren Atad, they said, “This is a time of great sorrow for those Egyptians.” So now that place across the Jordan River is named Abel Mizraim.
12 So Jacob’s sons did what their father told them. 13 They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah. This was the cave near Mamre in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite. Abraham bought that cave to use as a burial place. 14 After Joseph buried his father, he and everyone in the group with him went back to Egypt.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. The Kingdom of God Functions on a Culture of Honor.
In the Kingdom of God, honor is a fundamental principle. We see Godly honor in the way Joseph and Egypt honored Jacob (aka Israel) when he died. Jacob received a 7-day long funeral celebration of his life. Our God is a God of honor. The place mentioned in the text today, named “Abel Mizraim” because of Jacob’s funeral, stands as a testament to the honor Jacob received from both his family and the Egyptians, reflecting God’s heart of honor. Abel Mizraim means “Mourning (or Mourner) of the Egyptians.” It was named after the local Canaanites, who observed the Egyptians mourning Jacob with great respect.
As children of God, we are supposed to stand out from this world. We are supposed to be different. One way we are clearly different from the world is when we operate in the type of HONOR that is common to God’s Kingdom because this honor is uncommon in this world. Godly honor is a form of divine respect that acknowledges the anointing on people’s lives.
To honor someone means to see the value that God has placed in them, overlooking their flaws and mistakes. When you honor someone, you are choosing to see them the way God does. Pastor Tony Brazelton puts it this way: “When you honor God, you honor His people. When you honor His people, this means you see them the way God sees them, and you relate to them that way, without tripping over their humanity.” Jacob’s funeral was seven days long. It was not because he was perfect, because he was not. It was just that Joseph chose to honor his father that way despite his flaws. Guess what? Your faults, flaws, and failures will not keep God from honoring you!
How this applies to you:
— Acknowledge the value God placed in others, seeing them beyond their flaws.
— Show divine respect for the “human in the loop,” recognizing the anointing on their lives.
— Trust that God will honor you without letting your mistakes cause Him to withhold honor.
— Practice seeing others the way God sees them and relate to them accordingly.
— Embrace a culture of honor in your daily interactions.
— Understand that honoring others aligns you with God’s perspective. You will be amazed at what you see in people once you open your heart to God’s perspective of them.
— See beyond human flaws to the divine purpose in each person.
— Remember that honoring others is a reflection of honoring God.
— Strengthen your relationships by honoring the God-given value in others. You cannot claim to love a God you cannot see if you fail to love the people you see every day.
— Prepare for the day when God honors you by living a life of honor now.
— Part of your purpose in life is to demonstrate the culture of heaven on the earth. One of the ways you do this is by representing God’s culture of honor.
2. Honoring Someone at Death Reflects the Heart of God.
God understands human imperfection. When it comes time to remember someone, God chooses to highlight their best qualities, not their worst, because He is a God of honor. Joseph ensured that his father, Jacob, was honored with a grand burial. The entire nation of Egypt mourned Jacob for 70 days, and then Joseph took great measures to bury him in the cave Abraham had purchased. All of this reflects God’s heart of honor.
In our text, Joseph made sure Jacob’s body was prepared for burial in a special way. Then, the entire nation of Egypt mourned Jacob for 70 days. Then Pharoah authorized Joseph to use national resources to transfer Jacob’s body back to Canaan, so he could be buried in the cave Abraham had purchased long ago. When they got there, they had a 7-day long funeral service. Why? Because God is a God of honor.
When you read about the lives of the people in the Old Testament, they were not perfect. But when they are recorded in the New Testament, God conveniently left out all their flaws. He only records the BEST and not the worst. Why? Because our God is a God of honor.
There is a book in heaven with your name on it. When you get there and read it, it will show you in the best light because God will HONOR your legacy by being HONORABLE towards you.
How this applies to you:
— Focus on highlighting the best in others, especially when honoring their legacy.
— Understand that honoring someone at death reflects God’s heart.
— Recognize the importance of honoring significant contributions.
— Ensure your actions reflect God’s heart of honor in remembering others.
— Emulate God’s approach by honoring the best in people, not their flaws.
— Appreciate the impact of honoring someone’s legacy positively.
— Learn to honor the contributions of others in your life.
— Meditate on the ways you can honor others daily.
— Recognize the value of ceremonial honors in reflecting God’s heart.
— Understand that honoring others uplifts their memory and legacy.
3. Getting Past Someone’s Humanity to Honor their Divinity.
To receive from God through His vessels, you must honor the God in them without tripping over their humanity. Honor positions you to receive divine blessings through others (through the anointing on their lives). Honoring God daily through submission to His Word and ways brings blessings. Not only should we honor God, but we should also honor the people He has placed in our lives. Not only that, but we must learn to honor ourselves. Developing a heart of honor helps you see God and others in the right light, and it helps you honor your own assignment.
How this applies to you:
— Honor the God in others without focusing on their human flaws.
— Position yourself to receive blessings through honoring others.
— Honor God daily by submitting to His Word and ways.
— Develop a habit of seeing the divine potential in others.
— Cultivate a lifestyle of honor to align with God’s best.
— Realize the importance of honoring your own divine assignment as well.
— Not only should we HONOR God and HONOR others, but we should HONOR ourselves.
— It takes an understanding of honor and grace to even put yourself in a position to be used by God, because you know (more than anyone else) how flawed you are.
— It takes a heart of honor to acknowledge the anointing and grace of your own life.
— When you develop a heart of divine honor, you can look in the mirror and say to yourself, “As Jesus is, so am I, in this world.”
— Your life will change forever once you start believing what God believes about you. But in order to do so, you must learn to honor yourself despite your flaws.
— If you don’t learn to honor yourself, it may be hard for others to honor you, and when they do, it will certainly be hard for you to receive it.
— Please develop a heart of honor so you are capable of honoring your own assignment and embracing the grace to become the man/woman God called you to be.
— It took a heart of honor for Joseph to see himself as the Prime Minister after being a prisoner, for David to see himself as a King after being a shepherd, for Gideon to see himself as a Commander after being a coward, for Paul to see himself as a Gospel Trailblazer after he was a terrorist, and the list can go on and on.
— The bottom line is you must learn to honor God, others, and yourself! Honor is the culture of God’s Kingdom!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I declare that Your Kingdom operates on a culture of honor, and I align myself with this divine principle.
I declare that I am a person of honor, choosing to see others through Your eyes, acknowledging the value and anointing You have placed in them.
I declare that I highlight the best in others, focusing on their contributions and divine purpose, reflecting Your heart of honor.
I honor the memory and legacy of those who have gone before me, understanding that honoring someone at death reflects Your heart.
Father, I honor myself as Your creation, embracing the anointing and grace You have bestowed upon me.
I embrace a lifestyle of honor, aligning my words and actions with Your Kingdom principles, knowing that it brings glory to Your name.
I develop a heart of honor. I honor You, Father, I honor those You have placed in my life, and I learn to honor myself.
I see myself the way You see me.
I believe what You believe about me.
I value the anointing and grace You have placed on my life.
I honor the assignment You have given me, by fully embracing it, despite my faults, flaws, and failures.
Living this way, I know, GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. AMEN!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
