Not the Same at All

Joseph is a great Biblical example of a person who experienced God’s favour. From his life it’s clear to see that having God’s favour doesn’t exempt you from having problems. In the beginning, Joseph’s life looked like the picture-perfect example of favour. Then one day his jealous brothers sold him to slave-traders. It would seem that God’s favour had left Joseph, but Joseph ended up working for Potiphar, one of the Pharaoh’s top leaders. Joseph worked hard, and God’s favour caused him to rise to the top. Eventually Joseph was placed in charge of all of Potiphar’s affairs. Life threw another curve ball at Joseph when he was wrongly accused of raping Potiphar’s wife and was thrown into jail. But God’s favour was still on Joseph. Even in jail, Joseph kept gaining influence until he ended up in charge of all the prisoners. Later, Joseph received the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s troubling dream. Joseph impressed him so much that Pharaoh said, “From now on, you’re in charge of my affairs; all my people will report to you. Only as king will I be over you” (Genesis 41:39–40, MSG). Joseph’s life certainly wasn’t without its share of trouble, but God’s favour caused Joseph to rise above every challenge. Genesis 39:19–23 says, “God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best” (MSG).If you’re going through a tough time, let his example encourage you. God’s favour is also on your life! No matter how big of a problem you’re facing, you are empowered to overcome it!

Does your life feel like a mess sometimes?

Maybe you feel like nothing has changed since you decided to follow Jesus because you still have all the same bad habits and problems. This may seem true, but you need to realize that you were created “anew” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT). You still may have beliefs to change and habits to overcome—we all do—but as a spiritual being, you’re not at all who you were before you gave your life to Jesus.

Jesus gave you a new identity the moment you were saved. And the more you learn about who you are in Him, the more you access God’s power to change.

Some Christians seem to expect people to clean up their life before they start coming to church. But what they expect is really impossible. Without a revelation of their new identity and power source, people have no power to do right. In fact, trying to be good on the strength of their own willpower only strengthens the bad habits and tendencies they fight in life, which brings condemnation, shame and judgment.

People need to be free to come as they are to church—bad habits and all. As they begin to realize their new identity in Christ, their behaviour will begin to change too.

You may have habits to break, and it’s great to work on those, but don’t stay focused on the fact that you’re not where you need to be. Get up every morning and say, “I am a child in God’s family, I have His nature in me, and I am empowered through Him to overcome!”