Today we will talk about the season we are in, which is a season to arise and build. We will look at Nehemiah who was in a similar season: there was a need to rebuild. As we introduce the idea of the favor of the Lord, we will receive it as a challenge to arise and build in our own lives.






“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13) What do we do as believers in an environment that has despair embedded in it? We find guidance from Scripture. “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.” (Genesis 26:12) In the context of famine, Isaac sowed. Our tendency is to stop sowing in hopeless situations; we don’t act in faith. Who will build the next generation in our nation? Who will solve the problems that covid brought? Who will break the power of delay and start to move forward? When people are afraid and not building because of fear, God’s children are called to arise and build again. 






Nehemiah was also in a season to rebuild. The walls of Jerusalem were in shambles, and Nehemiah was grieved by it.   He knew that ultimate favor comes from God, so he first prayed to God for favor with the king. God granted his request, and the king allowed Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. If you don’t expect favor, you won’t ask what you need to ask for in order to build what God called you to build. Ask for time, resources, and people in that order. Nehemiah asked for time off; he asked for a letter to be written for resources; then he asked for the people to join him in the work. 






Circumstance plus fear equals threat. Circumstance plus love equals favor. We can quickly see the world through a lens of threat, but God wants us to see the world through a lens of favor. “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12) Expect favor; extend ease. Walking in favor will determine your magnitude, and extending ease will determine your legacy.






How do we rightly respond to the favor God bestows on us? With thankfulness and service. The purpose of favor is to build and serve. Nehemiah interceded on behalf of his people, and he used the king’s favor to serve them. We must have favor in order to build, and favor is found in seeking the face of God. Nehemiah could not have favor with the human king until he came before the king and allowed the king to see him. A key doctrinal understanding of favor is that we find favor in someone’s sight. Are you allowing what is in your heart to be seen by God? Are you bringing that into the secret place? 






People that have a gap in their identity in Christ will be overwhelmed by the excitement of favor as a way to feel better about themselves. But the goal of favor is never status; it’s service. It comes upon us for a specific purpose. When God’s grace becomes an identity, you begin to walk in favor. As we step more and more into knowing grace as an identity, we begin to realize that we’re actually walking in the favor of God where grace resides on us. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) 






God is wondering who is going to stand in the gap, who is going to pray, and who is willing to receive His favor to build what He is calling them to build. In what ways have you been avoiding action in order to shield yourself, instead of allowing His favor to be your shield? If that is you, I invite you to pray, “I let down my guard and take up Yours.”