Favored by the Lord

Favor: an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual. 


- Finding favor means gaining approval, acceptance, or special benefits or blessings.  

The Lord has brought this topic to my attention on multiple occasions throughout the week, so I decided that it would be my next blog post discussion. The scripture I would like to incorporate is Psalms 23, which states

 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over."
(Psalms 23 King James Version) 

This letter from David is very personal, it is describing his emotion towards the Lord regardless of any circumstances. In the book of Psalms David goes through a number of emotions, happy, sad, angry, and confused. These are all REAL emotions that we all experience and have experienced in our lives. This specific scripture shows us the relationship David has with the Lord and how much hope and faith he puts in Him. David knows that the Lord favors him, that is why the chapter is very personal and heart felt. Do you feel the same about the Lord as David does? Some of us may, some may not... The goal we want to accomplish is establishing that same sort of faith, trust, hope, love with God that David had, we want these things to be tangible. When we have accomplished that we will begin to truly walk in our purpose and consistently be led by the Holy Spirit. First you must come in to terms with the known and the unknown, meaning the things you understand and the things you don't. I say this because in order to Love, Trust, and Abide in God you must understand that you will NOT understand everything that goes on in your life. However, having faith that EVERYTHING occurs with a specific purpose (when you are being led by the spirit). God's ways are higher than our His thoughts are higher, He is more COMPLEX then us in every facet. Acknowledging that being favored by the Lord means He works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Sometimes this may cause other things to fall a part, in order for the greater to come together perfectly. God is a great God, His favor falls upon all of those who seeks, submits, and loves Him faithfully.

"The Lord is my shepherd he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters." 

This scripture is simply describing the greatness of our King and how he truly is mindful of us. 

"He makes me lie down in green pastures..." 

He allows us to depend on Him solely, without the need of anything else. When we are in Christ we are not in need of much, when we open up our hearts to Him this gives Him the freedom to fill us up in every aspect necessary.

"he leads me besides still waters." 

The Lord leads us to Peace, just as His word says. I believe some words associated with still waters would be serenity, tranquility, quietness, stillness, etc.. 

I'm not going to dissect every aspect of this book, however, I did want to give a few examples of the greatness we receive from the Lord when we are truly favored by Him.. What he gives to us, the world could never take away..No matter how much people bad mouth you, want to see you fall, try to steal your joy, THE LORD is in your corner.

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."  

( John 14:27) 

" What, then shall we say to these things? If God be for us who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Tonight, I pray for those who may not be walking in their purpose or is not aware of the calling they may have on their lives. I hope each person reading this has been blessed by the Word of God. I Pray for everyone to be led by the Holy Spirit continually, that way we may always be favored by Jesus...Decreasing in ourselves and increasing in Him, this way the blessings multiply and our righteousness remains. 

God Bless.

Check out: GOD FAVORED ME BY Hezekiah Walker ft Marvin Sapp

Don't give up now!

 Children of God, You must understand that you are not to give up! How can a farmer harvest great fruits and vegetables if he stops planting seeds, doesn't nurture the plants, or doesn't reap? Just like the farmer we have to endure until we are where God needs us to be. We must allow God to plant seeds (His word) in us for growth, we must allow Him to nurture us, in order to be exactly who we need to be. Don't give up on God when you are so close, or you may not be able to reap the great blessings in store for you! 

Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 

You can apply this significant scripture to any circumstance God has led you to, or is trying to lead you to. Do not be afraid of what could happen, because he will always be on your side to protect you. When Elijah was confronted by 3 kings and 150 men at separate times God destroyed them all because Elijah was faithful and obedient. Ask your self, are you faithful and obedient to the Lord? Things might be tough now, may seem impossible to do, may be too much to handle, but GOD has made you more than a conqueror. Do not expect to know the answers from the test if you never took it. In other words don't expect to grow if you've never been through anything.  If you trust the Lord you would not be frightened by what the storm looks like.  The Lord is in control of the winds and the rain. In order to become greater you must complete your test. Actually, you should rejoice when you are tested because you know that testing of faith produces endurance. Endure until your testing is over (James 1:4). If you need wisdom, ask the Lord and you shall receive it because he is generous. Do not doubt yourself, or your situation because then you are doubting God. When you doubt Him you lose your chances of receiving what you asked for. Know that you are again, More than a conqueror. Encourage yourself and trust Him. James 1:12 also states ,

 "Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."

 Let this be your encouragement to persevere and be strong! Trust in the Lord and be guided by his wisdom. He is our refuge. He is the maker of the heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them- He remains faithful forever. God bless!

Is God truly your desire?

Matthew 22:37 
"Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your mind."

This Scripture is very pivotal in regards to being a faithful Christian. The Lord loves us all so much that he sent his one and only son to sacrifice for our sins. He did not say, if you love me I will send Him..He did it because He loves us genuinely, without asking Him to.  The type of love Christ displays for us is considered agape, meaning to love someone who is undeserving, regardless of disappointments. Agape is considered the highest form of love. This love from him is constant and it has no end. Now, Our job here on Earth is to reciprocate that same type of love back to him. It is required of us to live a life according to his will in order to inherit the Kingdom. An inheritance from family may come easily. however, this inheritance from the Lord comes with sacrifice and a desire to want it. People tend to think, "well, I love God and he knows that. So I don't have to change this about me." or "God knows my heart, therefore he will forgive me anyways." People go as far as thinking "Well, I pray everyday so the Lord will accept me, I'm going to heaven."
Now, It is true that God knows our hearts, however He says in His Word, 

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

 When you truly love God, he will be your desire. You will be willing to give up all of your bad habits, impure ways, and unfruitful thoughts; Simply because you love him. Have you ever loved some one so much that you were willing to change things about yourself in order to keep that person happy? Or have you ever lived a different lifestyle just to keep a person around? So why is it that people can not give themselves away for the Lord who is worthy.
He wants the best for our lives, which results in living according to his will. If you do so you will be favored in the kingdom, you will receive eternal life and not death. So ask yourself this question today, "Is God truly my desire?"

Check out this song on youtube: Kierra Shierd-Desire