"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV I was sitting in church one Wednesday night, overwhelmed with anger. Someone had hurt me, and I felt they weren't acting the way they should. I thought my sins weren't as bad as theirs, so I felt justified. But then, the Lord gently reminded me that I was wrong. I realized I was judging this person, and that was a sin in itself. God is holy, and my behavior was no better than theirs. I felt convicted and was moved to tears. The Holy Spirit whispered to me, "If you really love them, you would pray for their best, regardless of their behavior." That realization hit me hard. I admitted to myself that I didn’t truly love them as I claimed. My actions showed that I wanted them to act a certain way for my benefit. I remembered the verses from Numbers 6 and knew I needed to pray for G...
"The king’s anger is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like gentle dew on the grass."
Proverbs 19:12
Today, God gives us His favor because His anger at our sins was taken away at Calvary. The word for “favor” in Hebrew is ratsown, which means His happiness, delight, goodwill, and acceptance.
Jesus Christ bought our place of safety with His blood. In Him, we are made righteous, and all blessings for the righteous—such as protection, provision, and a long life—are ours now. Isn’t that wonderful?
That’s why the Scriptures say, “The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the righteous are as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1) and “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person has great power” (James 5:16). You are righteous in Christ, and when you pray the prayer of protection found in Psalm 91, your prayers are powerful because God listens to them!
Here’s a story from Sally in South Africa about God’s protection:
"I was driving a rental car when I heard a loud noise. Suddenly, the car caught fire. I turned off the engine to get out, but couldn’t unbuckle the seatbelt or open the door. I was trapped! Eventually, I managed to open the door, but the flames were getting inside. I had to close the door again because I was stuck by the seatbelt.
I called out to Abba Father and declared, 'I am Your righteousness. You are the only One who can save me!' Right then, my seatbelt clicked open, and I ran out of the car.
Firefighters came and put out the fire. I thank the Lord for keeping me safe! I realized that the devil has already been defeated, and we don’t need to be afraid anymore.
Praise the Lord for His protection! We can rejoice knowing we are safe because of the righteousness we have in Christ!"