The God Factor

“So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” — Joshua 6:20 (NKJV)

Have you ever faced an impossible task and discovered a solution unexpectedly? Have things happened in your business or life that are difficult to explain? Do you believe in the impossible?

If you are operating a kingdom business, you most likely have faced unexplainable circumstances in your favor. Those who do not have a personal commitment to the ways of the kingdom would find it difficult to believe you if you tried to explain the circumstances to them. A client that pays his bill just when you needed the money most; a vendor that forgives a debt or reduces your bill to the exact amount that you have available to settle the account due; a bank that extends a credit line, a new contract just when you need it. These are just a few examples of what I refer to as “the God Factor.” Nonbelievers call it luck or chance. However, those of us who believe in the power of an Almighty God knows there is no such thing as luck or chance. Everything that happens is based on the orchestration of God’s ultimate will.

The God Factor is an intervention of the divine. It is God’s act of reaching into the visible world to carry out His ultimate will. It is God stepping into human affairs to ensure that His ultimate will is being advanced. It is something that cannot be logically explained, due to its unexpected and incomprehensible nature. As a result, any plan that does not factor into God’s ultimate will is doomed to fail and any plan that does factor into God’s ultimate will is bound to succeed, no matter how impossible the task.

“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26 (NKJV)

After the death of Moses, Joshua is given the impossible task of leading the Israelites into their final military battle against Jericho to obtain possession of the promised land. Jericho was protected by a massive wall that made it impossible for an attacker to defeat, but God gave Joshua a strategy. He and his army must march around the wall six days, once a day, and then, on the seventh day, march seven times, have the priests blow their trumpets, and then shout all at once. Following this strategy, the wall would come down. I’m sure this plan of the attack made no sense to Joshua and his people, but he obeyed God nonetheless and had the people march around the wall seven times and shout after the trumpet sounded. Just as the Lord had said, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, and they took possession of the city. What made this all possible? Was it their strength? Their superior intelligence? Their military might? Though they were armed and had trained and used military intelligence, the key to their victory was the God factor. They factored God in their strategy, and, consequently, their strategy became unbeatable.

There are so many other biblical stories of God’s intervention in the affairs of His chosen, as they operated according to His will: there is the story of Abraham and Sarah, who conceived a child in their old age; there is Moses’ act of defeating Pharaoh and single-handedly freeing the Hebrews from the most powerful military of his day; there is the widow with the jar of oil, who went from bankruptcy to starting an oil manufacturing business and becoming debt-free; and, of course, there is Jesus Christ’s personal story, being born of a virgin, dying a horrific death, and rising on the third day. None of these things can be explained without factoring in God.

As you consider your plans, have you factored in God? Have you considered the things that God is calling you to do or are you limiting your plans to only what you can do? Whether it is expanding your business, becoming debt-free, starting a new business, or incorporating intentional kingdom strategies into your business, getting through a current trial you are facing, do not go only depending on yourself.

Remember your Creator, His will, and His ability. Remember the God factor, and, no matter how impossible the task may seem, with Him all things are possible.

My prayer for you today is that you will invite God into your business and plans, allowing Him to change those expectations if necessary so they reflect His will, and also that He will cause you to experience supernatural exploits that can only be explained by God’s involvement.