The Secret to Attracting the Favor of the LordExemplo

In the Bible, Abraham (formerly known as Abram) is a great example of someone who wholeheartedly committed to his assignment. This resulted in him receiving a huge promise from the Lord whereby he became the father of God’s people, Israel. 

After the flood in Genesis, Abraham was the first man God called. Why? He was accepted because of his faith! By the time God called Abraham the world had degenerated from the righteous family of Noah who worshipped the one true God, into a polytheistic culture of worshipping dozens of “gods” associated with natural phenomena such as the sun, the moon, the rain, the rivers, the weather, healing, fertility, etc. Along with this idolatry came a corresponding decline in moral behavior and the world was spiraling back into the debauched pre-Flood society which the Lord had rejected.

Abraham saw all the different pagan gods people were worshipping, and he noted how inconsistent they were. He observed that individually they had no control over their own domains, and therefore collectively they could not possibly cooperate for the benefit of mankind unless an all-powerful God was controlling and coordinating them. And thus, he concluded there was one true God to whom they all should offer thanksgiving, honor, praise, and worship.

Abraham was a very articulate and persuasive man and he decided to contest the local wise men and seers of Mesopotamia, knowing full well this would attract massive adversity and was fraught with danger. However, he was so strong in his belief in the Lord, and he was so convinced people had ascribed deity to the wrong gods, that he could not sit back and do nothing.

To put this into more modern times, this would be like going to the Pope in the 14th Century and telling him he was talking rubbish. Abraham so believed in the one true God that he committed to challenging these local religious academics, even though he knew he would cross the point of no return. 

Inevitably, following this, the mobs wanted to kill him. Therefore, the Lord gave Abraham instructions to relocate to a safe new location. Abraham trusted the Lord unconditionally and he gathered his family and livestock and moved away from kindred into an unknown land. The Lord applied his favor to Abraham and promised that he would become the father of many nations. This had incredible significance because at the time Abraham’s wife, Sarah, had struggled to conceive for many years and was physically beyond childbearing age. 

So, Abraham left with his family and traveled to Canaan. He then went to Egypt to audit the beliefs of the wise men living there, because their negative influence was reaching all over the world, especially into Canaan. Abraham was so committed to God that he again contested the wise men in Egypt by explaining how their gods were actually impotent. This time he was quite successful because he had gained their respect by introducing arithmetic and astronomy to them, which he had learned in the land of Chaldee. 

Because of this unconditional commitment the Lord continually applied His favor and eventually Abraham’s promise was fulfilled when he became the Patriarch of God’s people. 

Abraham’s story is quite extensive, and he wrestled with his faith at various times in his life. However, this did not stop him from attaining the Lord’s favor, because he simply had committed unconditionally to his assignment.