And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
For you who are Mine, when you are troubled in your mind and you just can’t seem to let go of the grip of the worry on you, I break through, and suddenly you will hear My gentle voice speaking above your worried thoughts that are holding you down saying, “Surprise!” And your heart understands what I mean—that I am turning the situation around for a favorable outcome. I am showing you favor.
“If I were in your shoes, I’d go straight to God, I’d throw myself on the mercy of God. After all, he’s famous for great and unexpected acts; there’s no end to his surprises. He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth, sends water to irrigate the fields. He raises up the down-and-out, gives firm footing to those sinking in grief. He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks, so that none of their plots come to term. He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies— all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash! Suddenly they’re disoriented, plunged into darkness; they can’t see to put one foot in front of the other. But the downtrodden are saved by God, saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist. And so the poor continue to hope, while injustice is bound and gagged.” Job 5:8-16 (MSG, The Message Bible).
And that is My Word to you each day who are My heirs in Christ. Surprise! Let Me surprise you with My goodness and turn your worries into songs of praise for what I have done to make it all work out in your favor. Behold I am doing something new—for you!
Surprise us with love at daybreak; then we’ll skip and dance all the day long. Psalm 90:12-17 (MSG, the Message Bible).
Know and believe in My love for you. You have an inheritance of favor—divine and human. So, with joy, cast your care on Me, knowing you have favor with Me. It will be hard for you to really cast your care and stop thinking on it if you do not understand that you have My favor upon you.
Jesus grew and increased in wisdom, maturity, and favor with Me and men in His life among you as one like you. You, like Him, can increase in wisdom, maturity and favor with Me and men. And how did He do that? By keeping My Word, He was obedient to My Word in everything.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13.
Your life can be filled with showers of blessing. That is what favor is about.
“I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:25-26.
Surprise. I am the God of the Breakthrough.
So David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there; and he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore he named that place Baal-perazim (the Master of the Breakthrough). 2 Samuel 5:20.
What is favor? First, let Me explain to you that both in Hebrew and Greek, the languages of the Old and New Testaments, the word translated “favor” is also translated “grace.” Both are unmerited and flow from My gentleness and lovingkindness. My inclination is to lean towards you to freely extend and give Myself to you, My divine nature and life flowing into you to increase you to higher realms in wisdom, stature, and favor. I have stooped to make you great, raising up your humanity to join with divinity through Jesus. I am disposed to bless you from the start. Blessing and increase were My first words to mankind on the day I created you. Favor. You have captured not only My attention but also My heart.
Here is a definition of favor working in your life: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28.
Favor is when everything turns out good. It is the shalom blessing—the whole abundant pie of life with no piece missing. It is the blessing I taught Moses for the priests to say over the people to put My Name on them so I could bless them.
And what is the result of knowing you are walking and living under the canopy of My favor and grace?
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7.
You can rejoice instead of worrying knowing I will turn it around for your good. And you will note it is not automatic, I have to tell you two times. I am gentle with the way, I stoop to make you great, and I ask you to be the same. Not harsh and judgmental, but gentle in correcting and directing. I am for you so be anxious for nothing but in everything give it to Me in prayer with a grateful heart in knowing that it is too big for you to handle but easy for Me and I am more than willing to take it on for you and see it through to the finish line. I will complete the good work I have begun in you if you will let Me.
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6.
And what is that good work?
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-25.
I make you complete, lacking in no good thing, in Christ. Jesus has made you holy, blameless and without reproach before Me by the blood of His cross. And now you can walk out what I have put in you under an open Heaven of favor.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7-8.
If you consider My Covenant Names, that is, My magnificent promises signed in My memorial Name of I AM, I was, and I am to come, you will see that My Names are all about My favor towards you. I Am the LORD your healer, your provider, your righteousness, your helper, your victory, your sanctification, your shalom, your shepherd, your strength, your rock of refuge, your fortress, your deliverer, your redeemer, and your song. And there are more. I am the God of all comfort.
What is the key to favor even in the temporal? You are pleasing to someone so they are inclined to do good to you and give you positions above others. Jesus had My favor on His life and what did He tell you about that?
So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” John 8:28-29.
I tell you that when you are pleasing to Me, I even make your enemies be at peace with you.
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 2 Corinthians 5:6-9.
When the twelve spies returned to the Israelites in the wilderness at the entrance to the land I had promised them, ten brought back a report that they were not able to conquer that land because the inhabitants seemed big to them and made them fearful, but Joshua and Caleb saw favor from Me was all that was needed to win even against what looked too big for them.
Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our bread. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” Numbers 14:6-9.
He saw that if they were pleasing to Me, I would bring them in and give them the land. And he then proceeded to tell them how you please Me: by believing My Word of promise, not talking against it, and not fearing that My Word will not come to pass. But you knew that already, for I have told you that without faith it is impossible to please Me. And there is only one way you have faith in someone: you believe their word to you is true and that they will act in your best interests always.
And with Me, you have both those things. It is impossible for Me to lie and I am always acting in your best interests. How do you know that? My track record.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Romans 8:31-34.
There is no condemnation now for you who are in Christ Jesus. If that is not enough to convince you of My favor and that I am on your side, I do not know what could. I have redeemed you with the blood of My Son and given you My Kingdom.
Jesus makes you pleasing to Me. He is your inheritance. He shields you from the wrath to come, judgment, and condemnation. He took it in your place and covered for you so that you will never have to experience it. In Jesus I stooped down to raise you up. I lifted you as a father does an infant to his cheeks, I fed you with the finest wheat and honey from the rock, and raised you up and seated you with Him at My right hand.
I am awesome in power, majesty, might, strength, justice, and purity. I am absolute good and no evil can enter or reside with Me. And yet in Me you find a nature that is gentle, humble of heart, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. I am compassionate, favorable to you.
I remember that you are dust. But I solved that by the fullness of the redemption I give you in Christ, I have entrusted you to Him, sealed you in Him by the Holy Spirit as a pledge, that He will raise you up on the last day and you will receive a new and glorious body that will never be sick, die, or decay but will be young, beautiful, strong and pure forever. And that is favor.
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. Psalm 103:11-14.
Justice and mercy meet in Jesus, they manifest for you in Jesus. I sent the perfect man to be the perfect sacrifice and put all your sins on Him and released you from the prison of sin and death to you righteous with My own righteousness. And this is the ultimate favor. But if I did thisfor you when you were dead in your sins, MUCH MORE not that you are saved will I shower you with favor.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:8-11.
Nothing can separate you from My love. The devil tried when he led Adam and Eve into sin and death but even that could not overcome My love for you. I was in Christ reconciling the world to Myself not counting your sins against you. Love manifests to you in divine favor and grace.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:10-14.
But what does all this mean to you today in your life each day? Surprise. You can expect all to turn out good. You can cast your care on Me and have no worry or fear for you will know I am working on it to give you a most favorable result.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9.
I love you. I have shown you extraordinary favor in Christ and I will continue to do so forever. Surprise! I am doing something good for you. Do you not perceive it?
Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile. For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.” 1 Samuel 12:20-22.