2 Tim 2:1
You, therefore, my son, be strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus.
I believe God is saying to each of us: be confident in who you are in Christ and just walk in the favour of God. Just as Paul here in this scripture was encouraging Timothy to be strong in the divine favour that was his in Jesus Christ.
Also, if you want the favour of God, then take Him at His word and believe you have it. Start by speaking it over yourself.
It tells us in Psalm 37:4:
‘Delight yourself also in the Lord. And He will give you the desires of your heart.’
1st Peter 1:13 tells us:
‘Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace (divine Favour) that is brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’
Gird = belt or band round one’s body
Gird = prepare oneself for a challenge = get ready
In other words, we have a part to play: exercise our faith and believe for the favour of God. In other words, be favour-minded and expect it.
This means we must control our minds and train it in thinking soberly, which means to think soundly. The power of thinking like God, the Bible tells us to cast down arguments and everything that exalts against God. (2 Cor 10:5) and if the word of God says we can do it, then we can.
Here is a great scripture to meditate on:
Hebrews 4:16
‘Let us come therefore boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’
We do not have to beg; we just have to ask, and we are told to come boldly to His throne.
So, do you go boldly to His throne? Do you expect His Favour? Do you receive His divine Favour? Do you believe He will bless you with His favour?
Why don’t you take that scripture and just meditate on it. Renew your mind to the actual truth in it, whatever difficult situation you may be facing. Just knowing you have access to divine favour and can go boldly to His throne will help you to expect more. And as we learn to develop our faith in His favour, we will grow more confident in who we are in Him.
Let us watch and expect God’s favour to shift these mountains in our lives because exercising our faith and expecting His favour will grow us and mature us in His word, and we will begin to expect more.
When you receive a victory, just thank God for His favour.
There are some people who stumble through life saying, “Whatever will be will be,” and they take a lot of hard knocks and hope that eventually everything will be okay, but as Christians and according to scripture, we have the right to believe for God’s favour. Amen.
Develop your mindset according to the word of God quite simply because He chose you (John 15:16). He has given us His word; however, we have to do our part and develop our faith in His word, believe it, meditate on it, and receive it. Amen.
Isaiah 26:3
‘You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.’
Do you really trust God? Because that is where perfect peace lies.
In order to get to the place where our faith will move mountains and we have the ability to overcome everything that the world or enemy throws at us, we must increase in favour.
2 Peter 3:18
‘But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.’
When we translate the word grace as divine favour, what this verse is saying is that we are to grow in divine favour and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And the more we grow, the more we will increase in the manifestation of the favour of God. Amen.
Luke 2:52
‘And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and men.’
If the favour of God increased in Jesus’s life, then it will increase in ours. And if you read the preceding scriptures, Jesus said, “I must be about my Father’s business,” in other words, He studied the word of His Father.
Let’s have a look at Psalm 119:58-89:
I entreated your favour with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to your word. I thought about your ways and turned my feet to your testimonies.
Here is someone asking for favour with his whole heart. However, notice in the next scripture what he must do to increase. He says, “I thought about my ways.”
Therefore, if we are going to ask God for favour to increase, then we need to look at our ways, in other words, are our ways pleasing to God?
Haggai 1:6-7
‘You have sown much and bring in little; you eat but do not have enough; you drink but are not filled with drink; you clothe yourself, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.’
Thus says the Lord, consider your ways.
If we are not experiencing the favour of God to the extent that it has been promised, then we need to examine our ways. This verse is teaching us that although they are working right, they are not living according to God’s ways and whatever they are earning is like going into a bucket with holes.
Let me explain this a bit more: I learned very early on as a Christian that character was important. And although I was a good timekeeper, I took extra care to keep my word. If I was starting work at 8 am, I would be there for 7.55, and I done my job to the best of my ability and more. I stopped throwing litter and putting my shopping trolley back, etc. I learned to forgive by faith and not hold grudges, tried not to take offense. I tithe or give as the Lord leads to the best of my ability and try to be obedient even when I do not want to be. I try not to speak negatively about any given situation, and I am still learning. So these are only some examples of changing from living worldly to living as God wants us to. Now I am not perfect, but hopefully, I’ve changed lots from where I used to be, and as God touches me about something else, I will be willing to change, however painful that might be to me because He would not ask me to if it is not going to benefit me in the long run. Amen.
God wants us to walk in His favour, and we need to understand HIM and how He works.
Good understanding gains favour (Prov. 13:13-15).