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But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice:

Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them:

Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous;

With favor wilt thou compass them as with a shield.

~ Psalm 5:11-12

 

Good morning dear sister!

Have you ever tried to win someone’s favor? Of course you have! It is part of getting along in this world. 

God has created mankind with a longing for companionship, for someone to love! He has created us in His image and breathed in us His spirit of life! God sharing Himself with us is His favor upon us!

When we go about trying to win a person’s favor, whether child or adult, we have to work at it a little. We start by being friendly and showing interest in our ‘subject’. We give of ourselves and over time, through faithfulness, we prove we are trustworthy and reliable.

If all goes well, we will earn that person’s favor and enjoy a good and healthy relationship! Until we mess up. And, sooner or later, we always mess up. Strong relationships where the favor is mutual often keep moving forward, but when we stumble, we must repent and work to gain ground back.

Unlike our adult lives, there is something childlike about living in God’s favor. First of all, God has already shown His favor toward humankind by giving us His Son! 

Jesus took on our sins before we were even born!

God, the Father, knew us before we even knew ourselves! There is nothing we can do to earn His favor, His favor has always and already been upon us! 

That being said, why is it that, as we grow up in this world, we are so easily beset by negativity, worry and strife? Perhaps we need to think about whose favor we are pursuing or what we are trusting in.

The verse above starts with ‘let all those who put their trust in thee…’ Do we put our trust in God, who has already shown us favor? If so, we have reason to rejoice, not worry!

Why should we rejoice? God, who has already shown us favor, says in His Word that those who trust in Him should rejoice and ever shout for joy because He defends us as well! This signifies that the believer will not be without challenges, but God will defend His child!

Being a born again child of God does not mean that you will never fall and skin your knee or suffer setbacks. We may even have battles to fight and sin to overcome, but our Abba is our defender! And our coach! And our healer! And our redeemer!

So shout for joy, my sister! If you love His name, be ever joyful in Him! Keep your eyes on Him and you will see victory! (I’m preaching to myself here) God is good and He will bless the righteous! Note that his word doesn’t say the self-righteous, we need Him!

God covers his children with favor that will be like a shield against all that this world is throwing at us. Nothing can penetrate that; not doubt, not fear, not anxiety, not despair. 

God’s favor shields against doubt with assurance! ‘Do not be afraid, (your name here?), you have found favor with God!’ (Luke 1:30) 

God’s favor shields against fear with courage! ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.’ (Deut 31:6), 

God’s favor shields against anxiety with peace! ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace on whom his favor rests.’ (Luke 2:14) 

God’s favor shields despair with hope! ‘For His anger lasts only for a moment, but His favor lasts for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.’ (Ps 30:5-6)

Sometimes we sisters work so hard to figure things out, make things right, try to get everybody to get along in this ornery world, but the Lord tells us to look to Him. He may allow us to be instrumental in all that stuff, but ultimately, we need to trust that He’s got it all in His loving hand.

His favor rests upon you and me! Lord, help us to rest in that today! 

And tomorrow.

And forever more!

God bless you my precious sister! Keep loving Jesus and moving forward!

With love, your sister, Celeste