40 DAYS OF ABUNDANT LIVING – LIVING FAVOR MINDED – PART 1
[slideshow_deploy id=’207′]
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.” - Psalm 8:4-5
A couple wanted to enroll their son in a particular private school, but his birthday fell four days after the cutoff date, necessitating a yearlong wait. They felt strongly that their child would do better by starting school with children his own age, so they called the school to see if they could make an exception.
"No way," the registrar told them. "I'm sorry; that's against the rules and we never make an exception. Your child will have to wait another year."
The couple remained kind; they weren't rude. They didn't jump down the registrar's throat or try to manipulate matters. They knew they had the favor of God, so they politely said, "That's fine, but we would like to speak with your boss."
The registrar referred them to the vice-principal of the school. My friends called him and explained the situation. He offered the same answer: "We'd love to help, but we just cannot bend the rules. You're going to have to wait until next year."
"Fine," the father said, "but we'd like to talk to your boss."
Eventually, they met with the principal of that school, but he responded similarly. "Rules are rules," he said. "I'm sorry. We can't change them. You're going to have to wait."
They said, "Fine. But we'd like to meet with your boss."
The principal said, "I report directly to the superintendent. I'll arrange a meeting for you."
The couple met with the superintendent of the private school and explained the situation. The man offered no comment. He didn't say yes; he didn't say no. He just listened. When they finished presenting their case, he said, "I'm going to have to get back with you." The couple left that meeting still declaring God's favor. They were expecting to get a good report, expecting things to turn around.
About a month after that conversation, they received a call from the school registrar, the first woman with whom they had spoken. She sounded perplexed as she said, "In the fifteen years I've been here, we have never done this before. We don't even know why we're doing it now, but we're going to make an exception and allow your child to attend school this term."
That is the favor of God. The school administrators may not have known why they were doing it, but we do. It's because God's favor surrounds us like a shield. It doesn't matter what the circumstances look like in your life. Regardless of how many people tell you that what you're attempting can't be done, if you'll persevere, declaring the favor of God and staying in an attitude of faith, God will open doors for you and change circumstances on your behalf.
To live favor minded, you should:
1. Understand who your father is
The Bible says, “God has crowned us with glory and honor.” The word honor is also translated as “favor,” and favor means “to assist, to provide with special advantages and to receive preferential treatment.” In other words, God wants to make your life easier. He wants to assist you, to promote you, to give you advantages. He wants you to have preferential treatment. God, our heavenly father is the creator and sustainer of the universe. He is the all powerful, all knowing, eternal and loving father, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, surrounded us with favor and crowned us with loving kindness and tender mercies. As God’s children we can live with confidence and boldness, expecting good things. We can expect preferential treatment, not because of who we are, but because of whose we are. We can expect people to want to help us because of who our Father is. He is the King of kings, and His glory and honor spill over onto you.
2. Declare God’s favor
The Bible says, “…we believe, therefore we speak.” We are encouraged to believe who God, our father is, believe who He said we are, and believe what He said we have. Therefore, we are to declare the goodness of God over our lives, our families, our church, our world and everything that is connected to us. Every morning before you leave the house, declare: "Father, I thank You that I have Your favor. Your favor is opening doors of opportunity. Your favor is bringing success into my life. Your favor is causing people to want to help me." Then go out with confidence, expecting good things to happen, expecting doors to open for you that may not open for somebody else, and knowing that you have an advantage. There's something special about you. You have the favor of God. In the evening, when you go to bed, continue thanking God and declaring His favor and goodness in your life. Anytime you get in a situation where you need favor, learn to declare it.
Shalom,
Rev. Obadiah Swen
Pastor, BWOC-VA
Application and Prayer for Today
1. Reflect and mediate on favor of God. Read Psalm 5:11-12
2. Describe instances in your life when you experience preferential treatment and you knew it was because of the favor of God.
3. Pray that God will help to become favor minded. Eph. 2:4-7
Comments are Closed