Divine Favor

Favor

Last week, we talked about tithing being a spiritual act of obedience that secures protection over your finances and that protection is a pre-requisite for a believer to start building wealth. This week we are expounding on a second benefit of the tithe—divine favor.

The idea of favor is seen all around us in society. When something or someone is considered to have favor, he or she is thought to have the approval or support from someone else. In many cases, the person expressing favor has a role of superiority to the recipient of the favor. Favoritism is prevalent in the corporate world, within families, in churches, in Hollywood, and many other arenas. It can exist in various forms. When favoritism is inverted, you can see it’s more scrutinized forms in things like unconscious and conscious biases which may manifest as nepotism, cronyism, prejudice, and discrimination.

In the world’s system, it is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to show one group favor without inherently putting that group’s counterparts at a disadvantage by being out of favor. This is yet another shortcoming of the world’s system compared to God’s system. The world’s system is setup largely as a zero-sum game. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines a zero-sum game as a scenario where one person or group can only win or advance at the expense of another person or group losing or being kept from advancing.

God’s system is not so. Since it is built upon His righteous judgment, no one is unjustly placed at a disadvantage in order to allow someone else to have an advantage. All have equal opportunity to receive His love, grace, mercy, provision, and blessings. His Kingdom is also so overflowing and abundant that no one has to experience lack in order for you to be blessed with more. Receiving these abundant blessings is a product of divine favor. Let’s look at some concrete examples of this special favor we have from God our Father as Christian believers.

Examples of divine favor

No matter what city you happen to be in, you probably see Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru with a double line of cars, workers outside with iPads taking orders, and a dining area almost packed to capacity. They have had to re-invent the way drive-thru operates because of the overflow of patronage. Even during the present COVID-19 restrictions, Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru is more crowded than any other fast food restaurant’s. Why is this? Granted, the food is pretty good, but they use the same basic ingredients as other restaurants whose focus is chicken. They have morphed the way they do things into a huge competitive advantage and I would contend that a major part of their competitive advantage starts with the business having the divine favor of God. In a Business Insider article, Kate Taylor recounts the words of Chick-fil-A’s founder S. Truett Cathy’s book where he states:

“Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him.”

Based on the numbers, God is obviously honoring this commitment because according to McCreary with Entreprenuer.com, Chick-fil-A brings in $4.09 million per store store location annually. In comparison, McDonald’s (who ranks number one for total revenue) only brings in $2.67 million per location. In other words, Chick-fil-A outperforms every other fast food restaurant hands-down on a per-store basis. One could argue this is the favor of God at work.

Divine favor can be defined as the power of God at work in our lives, manifesting in such an incredible way that it is clearly attributable to Him. His divine favor may be experienced anywhere and with anything—on our jobs, at the grocery store, in our churches, in our homes, with our family and friends, etc.. It is limitless because it is always out in front of us everywhere we go and can show itself in every endeavor in which we partake (Psalm 5:12). Let’s take a look at some more examples starting with ones from the Bible.

Abraham’s rescue of Lot

Abraham is known to believers as the “father of faith”. We have been made recipients of the Blessing of Abraham through Jesus Christ, but we see an interesting story of God’s favor at work in Abraham’s life in Genesis Chapter 14, even before his name was changed from Abram.

Abram’s nephew Lot had been taken captive by four kings who went to war in the Valley of Siddim (Genesis 14:8-12). Once the news reached Abram, he gathered 318 trained men and pursued his relative in order to rescue him. He defeated the four kings who had taken his nephew and recovered all the possessions and people. It was the favor of God working on Abram’s behalf that allowed him to prevail against the kings—retrieving Lot, the others, and all the possessions.

Abram acknowledged God’s favor upon his life when he offered a tenth of his possessions to Melchesideck, Priest of God Most High (Genesis 14:18-20). At this point, Abram had already become a wealthy man from God’s favor (Genesis 13:2). Howbeit, he was not attached to any of his possessions. He was attached to God’s promise and therefore, willingly used his possessions to further reverence and honor God by giving a tithe. It is important to note that Abram’s act of tithing was well before the Mosaic law was established. He was not tithing to fulfill the requirement of the law, but to acknowledge and express His thanks to God as his source.

When the king of Sodom offered to give Abram the possessions from the rescue and keep the people, Abram refused to take anything from the king. He wanted to be very clear that no man would be able to take credit for making him wealthy except God alone (Genesis 14:21-24). God was honoring Abram’s commitment with the divine favor He was showing Abram in every endeavor. Abram recognized that he would not have been triumphant against the kings and in rescuing Lot without divine favor. He recognized he could not have become wealthy without God’s favor. Ultimately, he could not have fathered Isaac in his old age without God’s favor on his life—becoming “Abraham”, the father of many nations.

We should think of our ability to accumulate wealth in a similar context. We may work for various employers and companies, but it is God who is showing us favor and will allow us to prosper. As long as we commit to Him and reverence Him above all things, we can see the same favor Abraham saw. Tithing helps to assure this divine favor continues to operate in your life. It is not as much about the money as it is the acknowledgment of a covenant relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ the son.

Peter’s miraculous catch

In the gospel of Luke Chapter 5, we see another example of God’s divine favor with Simon Peter, the fisherman turned Apostle. In Luke 5:2-3, we see where Peter allows Jesus to teach the word of God from his boat. He honors Jesus with his own possessions similarly to the function of the tithe. How does Jesus reward him? He shows him divine favor by instructing him to launch out into deeper water and let down his nets. In verse 6, they bring up so many fish that the nets begin to break. This is undoubtedly, unmistakably the divine favor of God at work. We know this because of what is provided in verse 5. Prior to this miraculous catch, Peter had worked and toiled all night, but despite his best efforts as an experienced fisherman, he had not caught one fish—not even a sardine. As soon as he obeyed instruction from Jesus, his results shifted.

God’s favor will always outperform our own human efforts. While we should be thankful for the knowledge, skill, and abilities God has given us, we should never exalt and rely on such things more than we rely on the God who has given them to us. We should seek and expect His divine favor to far outweigh these things. It is His divine favor that grants and allows such skills and abilities to benefit us.

A personal example

Now, I want to shift from Biblical examples of favor to a personal one. Several years ago, when I started my first engineering position about a year and a half after graduating, I worked as a Reliability Engineer for a company that made measuring instrumentation for different industries. My responsibilities involved firmware testing, troubleshooting, and product validation. It was all new to me and everything I was learning was OJT (on-the-job training). Moreover, my engineering supervisor did not have a very inviting personality to say it nicely. He was condescending, rude, and not anxious to help and give guidance. In retrospect, maybe he was under pressure which caused him to act in such a way. Whatever the case, it was a challenging situation for me as a young, “green” engineer.

One project I was assigned involved me reviewing a circuit design of a new product before prototypes were ordered and manufactured for beta testing. The circuit was a printed circuit board with seven layers and all I had was a PDF showing the conductive traces and layout of surface-mounted components for each layer. I was supposed to be able to ensure signal would flow through the circuit as designed. My task was to find and document any issues that would prevent the circuit from proper operation. In laymen’s terms, I was looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, but there was an unknown number of needles and very technical haystacks. I had no special tools available to assist me in this nearly impossible task.

Well, I started looking layer by layer to the best of my ability and understanding, making sure the electrical signal would flow from one layer to the next, through one trace to the respective component and so forth. Hours into this, I found an issue with a trace. I re-checked a few times because I couldn’t believe I had found something wrong. When I reported it to my supervisor, he could not believe I had actually found an issue either using the bare minimum resources and tools I had. The great thing is we were able to cancel the order of the prototypes saving hundreds of thousands of dollars on devices that would have never worked because of this problem and the time to figure it out. Despite his overall attitude toward me prior to that point, my supervisor commended me for the find in front of the VP, CFO, and other engineers at the company. He said, “I’m not sure how Alex was able to find this issue, but it is going to save us a lot of money and wasted time.” In retrospect, it was the divine favor of God that allowed me to exceed my natural ability and accomplish what seemed to be an impossible task (Matthew 19:26) while also making my enemy a footstool for me (Psalm 110:1).

Elements & functions of Divine Favor

Unmistakeable

The favor of God is unmistakable meaning you know it is God—not you, nor your abilities, nor your connections, nor your status. In Peter’s story, he had fished all night with nothing to show. When the favor of God manifested, however, the outcome was the polar opposite from what he had accomplished on his own. This removes any doubt about who it was. The difference in the outcomes was God’s hand being directly involved. We see a similar case with Gideon in Judges Chapter 7. Gideon’s army seemed to be too small for the Midianite army he was up against. But to God, Gideon’s army was too big (Judges 7:1-4). God reduced the size of Gideon’s army even more so it would be very clear that the favor of God is what would give Gideon the victory. Divine favor is greater and more powerful than any large and seemingly powerful foe you may face.

Can remove obstacles

In Exodus Chapter 14, having just escaped slavery in Egypt, the Israelites had the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh’s army behind them. They appeared to be trapped with no place to go. God showed the Israelites favor when he miraculously opened the Red Sea before them, removing their obstacle (Exodus 14:21-22). He also removed the threat of Pharaoh from the Israelites by using the very thing that had initially been their obstacle (Exodus 14:26-29).

Keep this in mind when you face obstacles day to day regarding your finances. No matter how insurmountable an obstacle may seem, the favor of God can remove it.

Can multiply your supply

In Matthew Chapter 14, we see where the favor of God turned two fish and five loaves of bread into a meal for well over 5,000 people. Not only did everyone eat, but the original lunch that had been given was greatly exceeded by the collected remnants that filled twelve baskets (Matthew 14:16-21). Did you catch that? Not only did everyone eat, but they also ended with more than they started with!

When your finances are in the hands of Jesus, they are divinely multiplied. Whether it occurs through miraculous acts or through divine wisdom and solutions being applied, God’s favor easily turns what appears to be a small supply into an ample supply.

Can accelerate time frames

In Matthew 21:18-22, we see a story where Jesus curses the fig tree. The disciples were astonished not only at the fact the tree withered, but how fast it withered. They knew Jesus had power to perform such miracles, but they were amazed that it occurred so fast.

He used this moment to teach the disciples about faith and prayer, but the story also shows God has sovereign power to accelerate the normal course of nature and time. This is a very powerful element of divine favor that can affect your finances. When you can operate in the level of faith and prayer that Jesus discusses here with your finances, you can experience accelerated outcomes.

Can enhance your abilities

In Judges Chapters 13-16, God’s favor was upon Samson to exert supernatural strength. Because his parents had dedicated the child to God from the womb (Judges 13:2-5,24), the favor of God was on his life even in spite of Samson’s personal shortcomings. Like Abram, Jacob, and Peter who honored God with their possessions, Samson’s mother honored God with the fruit of her womb. She placed her vow to the LORD and His word which she had received above any of her personal desires and agendas. She showed that when you put God first, His divine favor can manifest in supernatural ways.

Can place you at high regards with other people

When God’s favor is operating in your life, other people will regard you highly. People are just drawn to you whether or not they know exactly why. They see you going about your daily activities and the spirit you have makes them want to be connected with you. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:3-4 that when you operate in love and faithfulness, you will have a good name and favor with God and man. God is love and the epitome of faithfulness, so when you operate in love, you are operating in God through Jesus Christ. This qualifies you for the favor described.

Just recently, my sister, who is a nurse practitioner, was telling me how a patient refused to let anyone else see her at the doctor’s office except her. This is the divine favor of God manifesting itself in her job. God will show these instances of His favor working in our lives to encourage us and assure us that His favor is at work on our behalf. The more we acknowledge His favor at work, the more we will be able to see it working.

God’s favor policy disclosures (continued)

Last week, we examined Malachi 3:10-12 for its “protection” clauses. This week we explore its “favor” clauses. The passage is shown below again for convenience:

God’s Favor Policy (Malachi 3:10-12, KJV)

Open windows of heaven

As Christians, we should realize that there is an endless supply of anything we need in heaven. The money we need for our finances, the wisdom we need to use it correctly, and innumerable creative ideas that can be turned into prosperous ones are all in heaven. This is why the Bible says that what we “loose on earth is loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). When the windows of heaven are open for us, there is an endless supply of all these things, similar to a waterfall constantly flowing into our lives.

Yes, it is important that we know how to position ourselves at the base of this waterfall to access the supply—but once we do, there is no shortage of flow. This endless supply is a manifestation of God’s favor. We access it through the word—faith in the word and obedience to what the word says. The open windows of heaven grant us so much more than just access to money and financial resources though. Its bounty is far beyond just earthly treasures. This is why it is important that we define wealth based from a spiritual perspective. We will dedicate an entire post to this topic and go deeper with it in a couple of weeks.

Timeliness of a favorable harvest

God has given everything a time and season (Ecclesiastes 3:1). With this in mind, we must realize that His divine favor will carefully map out when and how blessings manifest in our lives. His process is orchestrated in ways so far above what we can think in the natural. We must think on a higher plane and realize that He sees all and knows all, therefore, He has a perfect way to bring things into fruition that favor us. God’s divine process and time frame is always superior to any process and time frame we may try to dictate. This is why learning to hear and obey the voice of the LORD and being keen to the leading of the Holy Spirit is so vital. We are programmed to take matters into our own hands to try to speed up the process because of the world’s system.

This is why we must be willing to be reprogrammed and transformed by constantly renewing our minds. The truth of God’s word will do this on a perpetual basis for all of us who continuously seek Him through His Word.

Blessed and delightsome land

Malachi 3:12 says all nations shall call you “blessed” and you shall be a “delightsome land”. To be called “blessed” means others will be able to recognize that God’s favor is at work in your life. This implies that the blessings will manifest outwardly, but recall anything seen outwardly is a manifestation of something invisible and spiritual. The Blessing of God is an invisible, inward work of divine favor on our lives we experience as children of God. It allows us to operate in His anointing in everything—our jobs, our families, our relationships, our talents, our skills, and our finances.

Notice the verse says you shall “be a delightsome land”. Living in a delightsome land is one thing, but being a delightsome is another. This implies that you will be a source for others to come to. Think about this: any of the resources that we rely on to sustain life and that create the economies around us are either directly or indirectly products of the land. God’s favor will allow you to operate as an available source for those around you—family, friends, co-workers, strangers you meet in the store, etc.. This is not just with respect to money, but also with respect to your understanding and applying of God’s word, your faith, and your knowledge, skills, and talents.

Summary

Over the course of two weeks, we have seen how tithing can activate both divine protection and divine favor in our lives and drastically change our finances. At this point, you may not ever have any intention of missing your future opportunities to tithe. However, obedience does not come automatically. It is a choice you have to actively make and execute. We are going to discuss spiritual truth regarding obedience and disobedience next week and wrap up the Spiritual Foundation portion of the blog before moving into finance and wealth accumulation specific topics.

Takeaways

• Divine favor is the power of God at work in our lives, manifesting in such an incredible way that it is clearly attributable to Him.
• God’s favor will always outperform our own human efforts.
• Divine favor is greater and more powerful than any large and seemingly powerful foe you may face.
• No matter how insurmountable an obstacle may seem, the favor of God can remove it.
• There is an endless supply of anything we need in heaven.
• God’s divine process and time frame is always superior to any process and time frame we may try to dictate.
• Any of the resources that we rely on to sustain life and that create the economies around us are either directly or indirectly products of the land.

Calls-to-action

1. The favor of God can manifest in ways that may go unrecognized, but when you look back, in retrospect you realize it was Him. What are some ways you may have experienced the favor of God in your life?
2. Write out or copy the verses of Malachi 3:10-12 and place it in a location where you can read it easily throughout the day.
3. As you meditate on the scripture above, think of ways you need His protection and favor to manifest right now in your life and in your finances. Begin decreeing this protection and favor in these areas of your life.

As always, feel free to review previous blog posts and share with anyone you believe will be blessed by these spiritual truths. Soon the Spiritual Truths for Wealth Accumulation (ST4WA) blog will be migrating to a self-hosted platform. As this platform is being finalized for launch, please touch and agree with us that it will be maximized for God’s glory. God bless you and stay tuned!