Dear People Who Keep Company With God,

I had a conversation with a young man who had lost his confidence concerning his profession. He was seeking to better himself by changing employment. He is very talented, skilled and educated. He is personable and has enough experience in his particular profession to secure better employment even in difficult economic times. And he is not alone. In these days there are many whose confidence have taken a hit.

When I first became a pastor I had a friend tell me, “What made you successful as an engineer will not necessarily make you successful as a pastor.” I was successful as an engineer and walked away with a lot of opportunity left on the table for me. The word confused me for a long time because I knew the secret to my success. It was God’s favor. I believe my friend meant to say, “What made you successful as an engineer is what will make you successful as a pastor.”

 

My counsel to the young man was simple. I told him he had to get his eyes off himself, circumstances and look to the favor of God. I shared how I came to understand, cooperate and walk in the favor of God in my engineering days and am having to relearn now. Here is some of what I told him.

VIP cardRuth is one of the finest examples of how favor works in the Bible. Ruth knew she needed favor in order to survive. She was a foreigner, but not just any foreigner; she was of the forbidden and hated race of people from Moab (Deut. 23:3). She was extremely poor and widowed, which meant there were a lot of younger and better-qualified women available. In spite of this, or maybe because of this, Ruth appealed to and confessed that favor was hers (Ruth 2:2).

Favor is what she got. To make a long story short, she married the richest man in Bethlehem and became the great-grandmother of King David. She is one of only three women whose names are recorded in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The other was her mother-in-law, Boaz’s mother and former woman of the night, Rahab, and of course Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1).

So one of the keys to walking in favor is get your eyes off yourself, your abilities or liabilities, age, experience, circumstances and situations around you.

Another key to walking in favor is submission. Yep, submission, not popular these days, but it is really hard to walk in favor apart from it. Ruth submitted to Naomi’s counsel and got favor (Ruth 2-3). Esther submitted to Hegai, the custodian of women and became Queen (Esther 2:8-9). Queen Esther submitted to Mordecai and found favor with the King and saved the Jews from destruction (Esther 5:7-8). Mary submitted to Gabriel’s word and became the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:38), and Jesus Himself grew in favor and wisdom with God and man after He submitted to His parents (Luke 2:51-52).

Submission does not earn us favor; it just positions us to receive it. So get your eyes off yourself, off the conditions of the world, and get in position to receive the favor of God in every area of your life. Finally, be thankful for the favor that comes your way. Thankfulness positions us for even greater blessings of life and wholeness (Luke 17:19).

Lord, grant us life and favor and sustain us with Your visitations (Job 10:12).

Many Blessings, BW

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