Psalm 30:5
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
“…his favor lasts a lifetime…” wow, God gets angry temporarily but His love for us is forever!
That is my new favorite part of the Bible, I have read the Bible many times but always find something new and exciting. His favor lasts a lifetime! Isn’t that exciting?
That to me speaks volumes. Emotions come and go. God has emotions as well. In the Bible He gets sad, mad, angry, happy, exuberant. We are created in His image, and like us God laughs, and turns His head in disgust and sadness. He even rejoices and sings. Like any good parent, even though He has emotions, His favor lasts a lifetime. Favor is something that both man and God can give. It is nothing to do with spirituality. A very common word, favorite, is used by man to bludgeon the emotions of those of us that are mediocre. Jesus, God with us, however was everyone’s favorite when he was a young boy, but that sure changed!
Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
It is more important to have God’s favor than man’s. Man is fickle, God isn’t. The fair haired boy at work, the favorite child and the home coming queen all have found favor in man. The problem is, that favor only lasts for a season, not for the lifetime. The fair haired boy looses a valuable account, the home coming queen ages and the favorite child turns out to be a drunk. When things like that happen, man’s favor goes away along with the smiles and accolades. Jesus had favor as a boy with the same people that were screaming ‘Give us Barabas!! Crucify Him!’ Less than 2 decades later.
God’s favor is different than man’s favor. I have long since stopped trying to seek validation from human beings because it comes and goes. I don’t seek man’s favor, I seek God’s. Mankind is growing further and further from God, so why would I want to be approved of by people who don’t love my Heavenly Father? When the unbeliever used to politely tolerate Christians, now they are getting more militant, with the approval of the multitudes. Soon they will be even more antagonistic towards those who love the Lord. It’s ok though. As Corrie Ten Boom, holocaust survivor said, ‘I have read the end of thebook, Jesus wins.’
Favor is usually gauged by success in man’s eyes. In the form of beauty, wealth, power or position.
Real success in life however is living in obedience to God’s Word. When we step out in faith trying to obey what God has shown us to do, the Bible says that God’s favor is all around us. It may result in open success for everyone to see, but it usually it doesn’t.
Successful favor in God’s eyes is doing what He wants you to do. God wants Winnie and I to feed and nurture poor at risk children. BTW, please resist theurge to have favorites. All having favorites does is make the others feel bad.
We try to serve each child telling them one on one that God loves them. We stop and kneel down to hear and hug every toddler with a need. I try to stop and talk to every old widow and drunkard in the street who needs help. If they know we love them in the name of Jesus, they will love the Lord, and they too can be favored.
I wish everyone to be favored by God. It’s the most important approval we can get. First step to getting people into that enviable position is to help them to know God and to make Him known. When that happens you will find His favor.
If you believe you are favored, if you want God to favor you, start acting like it (talking to myself here). Walk like it, talk like it, and think it.
Dean