Flowing in the Favor

Early in my walk as a Christian, I learned about the favor of God.

For a while, I thought it meant something like "the luck of the Lord."

I remember pulling up to a job interview and praying for the favor of God to be upon me so I could get the job as I listened to some preacher on my CD (that’s a compact disc for all you post - Gen Xers out there) talking about how I could prosper with God's favor upon me.

I usually thought of God as my lucky charm (kind of like one of those rabbit's feet I used to have on my keychain - ewe, gross) that I would pull out for special occasions when I needed some extra juju.

God's favor was a tool to help me get what I wanted.

I used to imagine God's favor was a supernatural spotlight on me.

With his favor upon me, no one could say no to me, and I would live a charmed (see what I did there) and fancy life.

I'm no biblical scholar, but I am not sure that God's favor should be yielded with the intention of selfish gain and notoriety.

I was putting a lot of pressure on God to bend to my will, not the other way around.

I now like to think of God's favor as a loving kindness I can rely on and rest in.

I think of God's favor as an unearned, beautiful grace shielding and surrounding me.

God's favor can be a flow of anointing and partiality but should be used to showcase God's

incredible love, power, and mercy.

I can go with the flow and know that when I follow God's intentions, His favor will flow with me.

And as I flow in His favor, I want the spotlight to be on God.

Look at what He's done for us.

Look at how good and kind He is.

Look at the mountains He has moved.

Look at how He loves us.

Look at how he protects and fights for us.

My response to God's favor should be praise and worship grounded in humility versus my natural inclination to walk over to the spotlight and aim that bright light at me.

That spotlight rig is hot, and I have burned myself too many times to count.

God's favor - his loving countenance, kindness, and will for my life - is about God, not me.

Our self-promoting culture, as well as my ego - both pride and insecurity - fights with me to grab that spotlight or manipulate God's favor to be about me.

Service over self is the flow I want to follow.

I want my life to testify to what God can do if I can get out of the way and let Him do it.

I want the last words uttered from my lips to be, "Look at what God did."

God is with us always and forever.

Psalm 5:12

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Luke 2: 13-14

Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Psalm 90:17

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; Yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Numbers 6: 24-26

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.