"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Psalm 84:11
If you look up the definition of grace
you will see, among others, this description: ‘the love and favor
of God toward man.’ Favor is described as: ‘friendly regard;
approval… partiality…a kind or obliging act…to approve or like,
be partial to, to support, advocate, help.’
We know that God is ‘partial to’
us; he gave his son to die for us. Would he make such a great
sacrifice to just leave us alone and on our own? No. He is our
strongest advocate, the source of our strength; he is our ‘enough’.
His grace allows us to be strong even in our weakness, because it is
in our weakness that He is strong.
God’s favor is not material
blessings, earthly rewards, or an easy life, although it may at times
include those things. God’s favor is the ability to stand firm in
times of trouble, the assurance that God is always in control and the
hope with confidence that he is always at work on his plan for us and
the world. It is the ability to live a life of blessing that leads
others to want what we have. It is being set apart from the world,
living differently, thinking differently, responding differently in a
way that is noticeable and makes people wonder what we have that
allows us to live this way. It is living in peaceful assurance that
God is sovereign and is not mocked or fooled or caught off guard by
the circumstances of this life.
God has been granting us his favor
since the beginning of time. He ‘graces’ us with his favor every
day. Read Psalm 84:11 again. He bestows favor and honor and does not
withhold any good thing from those whose walk is blameless. Now read
Psalm 19:13: “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may
they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of
great transgression.”
Sometimes we know what our willful sins
are, but sometimes we have kept them for so long that we found a way
to justify them (at least to ourselves) to the point that we don’t
even recognize them as sin anymore. Ask God to open your heart and
your eyes to see what willful sin you may be harboring. Then ask for
his grace to lay it down and walk away from it. Whatever it is, it
isn’t worth the break in your relationship with him.
Pray that God will grant you his favor
and blessing and that he will provide you with opportunities to bless
others with the favor and grace of God.
Leave a comment: How has God shown favor to you?
I am praying for you today.
Sherri
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