Walking in Favor Part 3
If I really kept up with how many times I have felt like I was walking in God’s favor this would be part gazillion instead of part 3. However, I have not kept up with every time the good Lord has blessed me beyond what I deserve, but I am titling this part 3 because it is another testimony to favor while attending a Joyce Meyer conference. If you have not read Part 1 and Part 2 please do so (but use the restroom first).
For almost exactly a year now I have not been able to live down the hilarious Matt Redman elevator experience. What can I say? I am a ‘wear my emotions on my sleeve’ kind of girl. You will never have to guess what I am thinking or feeling because I wear it right out there for everyone to see. I once again extend my apologies to poor Matt for making him think he was stuck in the elevator with a stalker. I understand that celebrities are just people like you or I, but for me there is something extra special about meeting a person of God with such powerful anointing. I could not contain my excitement back then when I got stuck in the elevator with Matt Redman and some of his band, nor could I keep from getting excited at this year’s conference when I actually got to meet Joyce Meyer herself. I have managed to develop some self-control over this last year so I did not royally embarrass myself this time but trust me the butterflies of emotion were the same on the inside and more so because of the anointing that is on that powerful woman of God.
Our conference group this year, consisted of myself, my Pastor and his wife, my mom and her cousin, my aunt and two dear friends. We all headed to Winston Salem, NC from Richmond, VA ready to be filled with the Word from Joyce’s teaching. Little did my group know I had prayed a prayer requesting so much favor and blessing that if it all came true we would be dancing like David danced; right till our clothes fell off. Seriously, had I not been practicing self-control I could have actually peed my pants at standing face to face with Joyce Meyer in my hotel lobby. Our entire group joked that what had happened was a Divine Appointment; calculated and strategically planned then put into motion by none other that our Creator Himself. I cannot explain the series of events any better. Just like last year, if one thing that day had gone different, if any activity had taken any longer, any shorter; if one single thing in our day had gone any different than the way it had we would have missed meeting one of the most anointed and favored women of God alive today. We were walking in God’s favor; period.
Biblical Favor as defined by the bible dictionary is gaining approval, acceptance, special benefits or blessings. We are given many examples throughout the bible of men and women that had this kind of favor. Moses, Abraham, Noah, Mary and so forth. As I read and study these truths and continue to press into the things of God I have come to the very real conclusion that these blessings are not just for those people in the bible but they are alive and real and available to each and every one of us today. So when I pray, I pray for favor, just like I do for grace and mercy, healings for loved ones, etc. I also take it a step further; I believe God for it.
Weeks before we left I was in prayer for our trip. I prayed for a safe trip for all of us and for the Godly filling I was desperately needing and after that I began to pray for all kinds of stuff. It was one of those long everything but the kitchen sink kind of prayers. I prayed to actually get to meet Joyce this time and to see the band again. Then that lead into praying to be in the same hotel with all of them, and then that lead to being on the same floor with all of them and then that lead to the ending of my prayer “and while you are at it God let my name be said from the stage for everyone to hear and let that be another confirmation for the call YOU have on my life”. I know as you are reading this you are thinking...this woman is crazy! Let me confirm something for you. I am. I am so crazy in love with God, His Son Jesus, His Word and the Power of His Holy Spirit that there isn’t anything I doubt that God will do to bless us, His children, as long as it does not hinder the plans that He has for us. He is such a big God that He can heal the sick, make the lame to walk and cause the blind to see while simultaneously setting up a plan for me to meet Joyce Meyer. And He did.
We headed out on a Wednesday like last year so we could take our time and not be rushed, because once the conference starts it is boom boom boom. You go go go and you don’t stop stop stop until you get home and crash from exhaustion; but a good exhaustion. Last year our blessings started on Thursday but this year they started Wednesday. The band showed up early and of course I recognized them. I did not freak out like before, I kept my cool and just said what’s up. Not really but I did keep my cool. We all giddily exclaimed “it is starting”. I still did not tell anyone about all the silly stuff I had prayed for, but I immediately knew God was answering my prayers. I began to praise Him and thank Him for everything. The next morning we headed out for breakfast and after that one thing after another started to happen. We missed our exit, our friends were late meeting up with us, we lost my mom and her cousin and my cell phone died, lunch took longer than expected, the GPS took us the super long way back to the hotel...and this is just what I can remember. It was inexplicably odd how everything seemed to be happening. We all started to joke about Divine Appointment and that God must have something super special for us during the conference. When we got back to hotel we saw Pastor Mike, Joyce’s Ministry Pastor, walking into the hotel. We rushed to catch up to him and lo and behold when we walked into the hotel lobby there was Joyce and Dave Meyer. There was only one other person in the lobby, where as the day before it was packed full of people all day long. Joyce was being held up by a lady that was trying to get a selfie. I calmly walked over and just stared. I knew she must have been in a hurry because her conference was starting in just a couple of hours, so I just stood and stared, my mouth may have opened too okay it probably was and maybe a little drool, but I did keep my cool; okay mostly, I mostly kept my cool. She looked over at me and walked over to me with her hand stretched out to shake mine and she smiled and asked “are you here for the conference?” I smiled and said yes and I proceeded to tell her that she was beautiful, anointed, amazing and whatever else I could babble in the amount of time it took the others to realize I was standing there talking to Joyce Meyer! We took a group photo, unfortunately the whole group didn’t get to experience this because they were at another hotel, and then my mom pulled Joyce aside and chatted her up and then we let them go. We were also on our way up to our rooms but I felt it was only right to let them go uninterrupted to their room. After they were out of sight my mom lost it; she did exactly what I did when I met Matt Redman except she waited until Joyce was out of earshot. It was hilarious. My mom’s cousin, who was experiencing one of these trips for the first time could not contain herself; she sat down and busted into tears at the overwhelming sensation of how God could bless us so much in such a short time. My pastor kept his cool, but was truly excited for “his girls” and his wife, the constant voice of reason in our group, stated, “they are just people”. She was blessed for sure, but level headed and a great example for us all. They are just people, just like your or I, but they are very anointed, God fearing, God loving, anointed people. I could feel the Holy Spirit in that woman the second I laid eyes on her and the closer she walked to me the more real and genuine I knew she was. It was a day I will never forget. And the most awesome part was, God didn’t have to do it, He didn’t have to allow all of those hiccups in our day to happen just so, He didn’t have to align the universe so perfectly that that moment would happen, but He did. His blessings for us don’t stop with the cross they start with the cross. The desires of our heart are important to Him and we should never feel guilty about praying for favor and blessings in and over our life.
As the trip continued I found out we were staying on the same floor with Dave and Joyce and most of her ministry team. We continued to run into the band members, Pastor Mike, Ginger; Joyce’s producer, and many more. I ended up sitting outside during one of our breaks with Pastor Mike and we had wonderful fellowship and prayer. We sat right with the band for three sessions just three rows from the front row. I also got to hear my name announced on stage. Can you believe it? Something so small yet so big at the same time. Ginger had gone around the coliseum the session before taking questions from the audience; thousands of people were there, hundreds of questions were given and she only picked five to share with Joyce during an impromptu Q&A before the Friday night session. I have been attending her conferences for over 10 years and this is the first time she has ever done that on stage live. I was blown away. It meant so much to me, not just because of the obvious but the fact that God was once again confirming the calling he has on my life.
I guess that is another reason it excites me so much to be able to meet such gifted men and women of God. I know the calling on my life and it excites me to see what my future may hold. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I do know that I am on my way.
I want to encourage you to never give up on your dreams, no matter how great you think they are; remember nothing is too big for God. He is the great I Am. Pray to Him, Seek Him, Fellowship with Him, strive to live a life pleasing to Him, read His Word and humble yourself before Him and He will lift you up. He opens doors no man can open. I am living proof that God is in the details. I prayed for these specific things to happen and they did. Not only did these wonderfully cool things happen, but I received a much needed Word from the Lord through Joyce’s teaching. She taught the entire book of Ephesians while we there and through that a question I had been asking the Lord about my marriage was answered. I went into detail about that answer in the message I preached Sunday to my congregation. If you are interested check out our podcast or my YouTube channel. Bottom line is, God did some amazing things and continues to amaze me each and every day. I repeat daily, “God I give you my life, I am a willing vessel to be used by you however you want to use me”. Let go and trust God, I wouldn’t trust my life in anyone else’s hands and you shouldn’t either. God Bless!
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