"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father seeks such as these to worship him . God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
Life Surrounded by Favor
14-Nov-2013
I got up last Sunday morning and posted the following message on my Facebook profile.
May all of my friends on FB find their life surrounded by favor. "For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield." - Psalm 5:12.
Ajit is one of my dear friends from my college days, who currently lives with his wife in Dubai. About three hours after my Facebook post, Ajit replied:
“Easy to praise the lord ... with having all the I, me, mine ... yes I do thank him for all that he has done ... but still waiting for him to bless the righteous in more ways than 'in spirit' ... I can sense some serious gyan coming on ... but dude, you know what I mean ... don’t remember the last time I saw the righteous 'surrounded by favour' ...”
(‘Gyan,’ by the way, is a Hindi word for wisdom or knowledge.)
There was something in Ajit’s comment that made me pause and reflect. I resolved to respond to his thoughts with this blog post about God’s favor in my life.
One of Ajit’s statements particularly stood out to me: “dude, you know what I mean .... don’t remember the last time I saw the righteous 'surrounded by favour' ...”
My mind rushed back to when I was living in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the morning of November 26th, 2008, the day before Thanksgiving. My wife, Susan, and our two daughters, twelve-year-old Rachita and nine-year-old Rachna, prepared to leave the house and drive to Laramie, Wyoming. We were going to spend Thanksgiving with our very dear friends and extended family, the LeBeau’s.
If I were to have posted a message on Facebook that morning, I would have probably said something similar to Ajit’s post. There was no clear evidence that my family was surrounded by God’s “favor as with a shield.”
We got into our Ford Taurus a little after 9 a.m. Saying a short prayer, we started off to Wyoming. It was a beautiful morning. Clear sky. The sun was out. No sign of rain. We had enough knick knacks for the road and a nice selection of music. The trip began with cheerful Rachita and Rachna having the time of their lives in the back seat, while I concentrated on the road ahead. Susan was sitting next to me, reading aloud from a book called, “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. I revered Randy as my “Time Management” guru, and he had written this book based on a lecture he had given at Carnegie Mellon University, called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” Less than a year later, on July 25th, 2008, he died of pancreatic cancer. Susan and I looked forward to reflecting on his legacy and wise principles by reading his book together during the long car ride.
Not too far from Laramie, just before 3pm, we rolled into a gas station. I filled up the tank and prepared for the last leg of the journey. Around 3:15 p.m., as the four of us zoomed down the I-80 interstate, the car suddenly jolted sideways, first to the left and then to the right, did a u-turn, and narrowly missed a light pole. The spinning vehicle rolled completely over and flew twenty-five feet before landing in an upright position.
The impact jammed the doors and completely shattered the glass on my side of the window. Susan lay bleeding and unconscious, while I managed to crawl out of the window and help my daughters out from the back seat. Two men who witnessed the accident ran to pull Susan from the car.
Scrambling away from the wreckage, wisps of white smoke and a few sparks led to the whole car catching fire. It happened suddenly as the full gas tank spread flames from the hood to the trunk. The interior melted as if made of wax. We watched as the car reduced to a charred steel frame in a matter of minutes.
When the fire fighters eventually arrived, two ambulances rushed my family to the nearest hospital’s emergency room, fifty-four miles away. Amazingly, the CAT Scan revealed no broken bones, and only the cut on Susan’s head required stitches. Within a short time, the four of us exited the hospital, sore and dizzy from the impact, but with no significant injuries. Everyone who witnessed the accident told us that we were fortunate to be alive.
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines “grace” as "the enjoyment of divine favor," and “mercy” as "compassion extended to someone, instead of severity."
Our dear friends, Jennifer and Phil LeBeau, had rushed to the place of the accident, shortly after we had climbed out of the wreckage. Jennifer went with the ambulances, while Phil drove me to the hospital. Their help was a mercy in the midst of a scary situation.
The car accident was one of two shocking events that impacted us that day. While we flipped across the interstate, back in my home country of India, terrorists attacked the city of Mumbai.
Today is November 28th, 2011. It has been three years since I experienced a near-death experience that occurred simultaneously with the Mumbai attack. I can’t help but remain grateful to have survived the car accident.
C.S. Lewis said, “God was the hunter and I was the deer. He stalked me, took unerring aim, and fired.”
Twenty-seven years ago, God hunted me, took aim, and fired his grace into my life. I have been justified by Jesus Christ ever since, and His righteousness is now mine. Today, time and again, God surrounds me with his mercy, and protects me. Even when death surrounds me, he saves me. My life is a testimony to his compassion, love, and kindness.
"For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield." - Psalm 5:12
My hope is that everyone can partake of God’s grace, and see that He is good:
“Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?”
- Julia H. Johnston, penned in 1910
Ref: Amitabh Singh Article - Life Surrounded by Favor
May all of my friends on FB find their life surrounded by favor. "For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield." - Psalm 5:12.
Ajit is one of my dear friends from my college days, who currently lives with his wife in Dubai. About three hours after my Facebook post, Ajit replied:
“Easy to praise the lord ... with having all the I, me, mine ... yes I do thank him for all that he has done ... but still waiting for him to bless the righteous in more ways than 'in spirit' ... I can sense some serious gyan coming on ... but dude, you know what I mean ... don’t remember the last time I saw the righteous 'surrounded by favour' ...”
(‘Gyan,’ by the way, is a Hindi word for wisdom or knowledge.)
There was something in Ajit’s comment that made me pause and reflect. I resolved to respond to his thoughts with this blog post about God’s favor in my life.
One of Ajit’s statements particularly stood out to me: “dude, you know what I mean .... don’t remember the last time I saw the righteous 'surrounded by favour' ...”
My mind rushed back to when I was living in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the morning of November 26th, 2008, the day before Thanksgiving. My wife, Susan, and our two daughters, twelve-year-old Rachita and nine-year-old Rachna, prepared to leave the house and drive to Laramie, Wyoming. We were going to spend Thanksgiving with our very dear friends and extended family, the LeBeau’s.
If I were to have posted a message on Facebook that morning, I would have probably said something similar to Ajit’s post. There was no clear evidence that my family was surrounded by God’s “favor as with a shield.”
We got into our Ford Taurus a little after 9 a.m. Saying a short prayer, we started off to Wyoming. It was a beautiful morning. Clear sky. The sun was out. No sign of rain. We had enough knick knacks for the road and a nice selection of music. The trip began with cheerful Rachita and Rachna having the time of their lives in the back seat, while I concentrated on the road ahead. Susan was sitting next to me, reading aloud from a book called, “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. I revered Randy as my “Time Management” guru, and he had written this book based on a lecture he had given at Carnegie Mellon University, called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” Less than a year later, on July 25th, 2008, he died of pancreatic cancer. Susan and I looked forward to reflecting on his legacy and wise principles by reading his book together during the long car ride.
Not too far from Laramie, just before 3pm, we rolled into a gas station. I filled up the tank and prepared for the last leg of the journey. Around 3:15 p.m., as the four of us zoomed down the I-80 interstate, the car suddenly jolted sideways, first to the left and then to the right, did a u-turn, and narrowly missed a light pole. The spinning vehicle rolled completely over and flew twenty-five feet before landing in an upright position.
The impact jammed the doors and completely shattered the glass on my side of the window. Susan lay bleeding and unconscious, while I managed to crawl out of the window and help my daughters out from the back seat. Two men who witnessed the accident ran to pull Susan from the car.
Scrambling away from the wreckage, wisps of white smoke and a few sparks led to the whole car catching fire. It happened suddenly as the full gas tank spread flames from the hood to the trunk. The interior melted as if made of wax. We watched as the car reduced to a charred steel frame in a matter of minutes.
When the fire fighters eventually arrived, two ambulances rushed my family to the nearest hospital’s emergency room, fifty-four miles away. Amazingly, the CAT Scan revealed no broken bones, and only the cut on Susan’s head required stitches. Within a short time, the four of us exited the hospital, sore and dizzy from the impact, but with no significant injuries. Everyone who witnessed the accident told us that we were fortunate to be alive.
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines “grace” as "the enjoyment of divine favor," and “mercy” as "compassion extended to someone, instead of severity."
Our dear friends, Jennifer and Phil LeBeau, had rushed to the place of the accident, shortly after we had climbed out of the wreckage. Jennifer went with the ambulances, while Phil drove me to the hospital. Their help was a mercy in the midst of a scary situation.
The car accident was one of two shocking events that impacted us that day. While we flipped across the interstate, back in my home country of India, terrorists attacked the city of Mumbai.
Today is November 28th, 2011. It has been three years since I experienced a near-death experience that occurred simultaneously with the Mumbai attack. I can’t help but remain grateful to have survived the car accident.
C.S. Lewis said, “God was the hunter and I was the deer. He stalked me, took unerring aim, and fired.”
Twenty-seven years ago, God hunted me, took aim, and fired his grace into my life. I have been justified by Jesus Christ ever since, and His righteousness is now mine. Today, time and again, God surrounds me with his mercy, and protects me. Even when death surrounds me, he saves me. My life is a testimony to his compassion, love, and kindness.
"For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield." - Psalm 5:12
My hope is that everyone can partake of God’s grace, and see that He is good:
“Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?”
- Julia H. Johnston, penned in 1910
Ref: Amitabh Singh Article - Life Surrounded by Favor