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03/06/2022 03:00 - 05/06/2022 02:00

"Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield" - Psalm 5:12 (NIV).

The story of Noah who lived at a time of great flood is of someone who found favour with the Lord at a perilous time. As it is written, "The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled" (Genesis 6: 5-6).

The story goes, "So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race ...But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (vv 6-8). One might ask why of all people it was Noah. The answer is: "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God" (vv 9).

There are numerous accounts of those who found favour with God. The first Christian martyr, Stephen, refered to David, as one "who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob" (Acts 7:46). Himself David would later clarify that to receive favor did not mean that one led a life beyond reproach. "All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:3).

To receive favour from God is due to the accomplished work of Christ on the cross. The righteous receive favor like Noah not because they walk in sinless perfection, but because they have sought forgiveness for their sins. The Lord does not look upon the self-righteous with favor, but those who are "humble and contrite in spirit" (Isaiah 66:2).

Today, we live in certainly perilous times of wars and increasingly high cost of living. But let us humble ourselves and ask for favour: "I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise" (Psalm 119:58). And as Psalm 84:11 says, "No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly." The righteous, in other words, are blessed with whatever it is they need.

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, in perilous times as these I look to you for your favour to shield me and bless me more, for "you bless the righteous, you saround them with your favour as with a shield" this I pray in Jesus's name.

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