Once upon a time, a man got a small job in one of the companies owned by a wealthy man. This man, as an act of kindness thought it good to always give the lower staffs (drivers, gateman) stipends whenever he had. One day, the driver of the owner of the company heard his boss speaking about a new position in one of his company (he needed someone to head), and the driver recommended the boy. Just like that, he owned his own house, and his story changed.
"And the boy Jesus grew in wisdom and in Stature, and in Favor with God, and with Man." Luke 2:52
From this scripture we can safely say, there are two kinds of favor.
- Favor with God
- Favor with Man.
My first insight about this is that, you cannot activate the favor of God except you align with the favor of men.
There is nothing God wants to give to you that is not on the table of another man.
The two million naira you are praying for is someone’s budget just for shopping for two days. And giving it to you won’t even have any effect in his account.
When we pray for favor from God, God gives it to us, but the reason why it looks like that prayer is delayed or not answered is our attitude towards men; It has crippled us from activating God’s favor.
Many of us are so nonchalant about how we treat people. We walk into places, and it’s like good morning is a scarce currency we have to spend sparingly.
So we labor in prayer and hope that angels will drop a bag of money in our room; right on our bed, but God doesn't work like that.
A preacher once said that, if there is anything of such, then God isn't true to his word any longer.
When Jesus was asked, is it good to pay tax? Jesus answered and said, bring me a coin. And when he was given a coin, he said, whose image is on the coin? They answered Ceaser. So Jesus said, give unto Ceaser what belongs to Ceaser.
The currency in Nigeria is Naira, and the legal means through which naira is authorized is through CBN. So if God should manufacture a naira note, he is going against the law of CBN. And God won't do that because of you.
Our problem is not God's Favor, our issue is activating God's favor.
You may have God's favor upon you but people around you will never notice it until it is activated.
Exodus 33:14-16
Moses said, I know you have favored me and the people with me, but how will the world know? There should be something that saparate us from them.
There are people who are spiritually gifted with sight, such that they could tell if a man has God’s hand on him or not. But some will need to see evidence of that hand upon you before they can believe. You can know that God’s favor is on you because God spoke to you about it, but the only way people will know that you are favored is if it is manifested in the physical. This was what Moses was asking for.
One thing you must understand about God's favor is that, it can be merited. It is God's grace that is unmerited, for scripture says, The grace of God has appeared unto ALL.
There are certain things you must do to attract or be in a position to activate the favor of God:
- EQUIP YOURSELF
Jesus grew in Wisdom. There is no wisdom except if there has been an encounter with knowledge. So it is safe to say that Jesus has been learning, and then he found Favor with God and Man.
When he was twelve and he was taken by his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, it was told that Jesus tarried. After three days, the parents came back to Jerusalem only to find him asking the doctors and lawyers of the law questions (Learning.) And they knew Jesus was different because even the questions he was asking them they didn’t know the answers to them, so he had to answer it by himself. In 2020 after the pandemic, I was on my own training and getting set for a new season (Not that I have any offer to join a club in view), and I don’t want to be caught unaware. Lo and behold, the coach I have been with for a long while picked up his phone, called someone and I got an offer I wasn’t expecting. So you must equip yourself in knowledge, have an indepth wisdom of the space you are seeking God’s favor for.
2. EMBRACE DISCOMFORT
The favor of God mostly doesn’t look like it. If the favor of God comes with comfort, accept it and be grateful; But rarely will it.
Because the favor of God does not necessarily comes with comfort. The primary purpose of God’s favor is to align you with what God want to do through you.
It won't care of the effect it will have on you, or your family, or your career.
In fact, if you were told that God's favor is on you and you take a look at your current situation you will tell God to take away his favor.
Most times, it comes with an unexplainable shameful mark on you.
An angel of God comes to tell you, you are with Child, and yet you are a virgin. How do you narrate that to people? Is it not okay if at least you conceive and a man is responsible for it? But what is it with this case, that your title as a Virgin still remains? This was why Joseph wanted to put her away secretly. And yet the angel said, Mary, thou hath blessed and highly favored of the Lord. Wow.
When God's favor located Joseph, he didn't throw him into comfort. He first got an unexpected hatred from his brothers and got separated from his family. Thrown into the pit, sold to a land he knew not, and he was thrown into the prison. We know that it was God's favor at work because the Bible kept saying, And Joseph found Favor before God.
3. HAVE SOMETHING
Favor of God will always bring you into a space where what you have is ultimately needed.
The reason it looks like you are not favored is because you have not met with the person who needs what you have, and that have what you need.
Joseph had the gift of interpretation of dreams and he kept interpreting dreams for free in the prison. One day God gave Pharoah, the king ofEgypt a dream, locked up it interpretation and handed the key to only Joseph. Pharoah was forced to bring him out of the Prison.
When Prophet Elijah was very hungry in a time when there was severe famine, a woman was in her house keeping her last meal so she could make it and both she and her son would eat and die. But Elijah said, bake and let me eat first. The woman had something which was considered nothing to her, not knowing the prophet had what it takes to multiply what she had. (Favor with Man). You have to think deeply and find out, if an opportunity is presented to you now, what do you have in you to maximize such opportunity?
There are many people out there who would have risen beyond their current level. But the reason that won’t happen is because they never discovered what they had and so, seasons passes over them and yet, they never found redemption.
4. RESPECT PEOPLE’S PREFERENCES
Even after God's favor had unlocked a meeting with Pharoah for Joseph, Joseph could have shut that door if he had taken seeing Pharoah as a casual thing.
Scripture said, he first shaved his beards. Meaning, he knew Pharoah and his officials were not fans of beards; they dreaded it. You will never see any Pharoah keeping beards. And then he also changed his garment.
He knew Pharoah was at that time considered a god; Spotless and clean. It was discovered that Pharoah uses milk to bath, and uses honey as cream on his body. You can wonder how clean and shining he did look. So Joseph came to him looking appealing and acceptable before Pharoah.
Don't just say, God's favor is with me, let me just go. No you must prepare.
Activating God's favor is by gaining men's favor.
We christians pray a lot, but unbelievers use the principle of favor with men to knock us out of places we should be dominating.
We were praying for a new leader, while someone else has been investing in people.
Our prayers secured God's favor, but even if God releases his angels, would angels vote?
You may think that the gateman does not matter, that the maid does not matter, that the driver does not matter, what you don't know is that they are the ears of great people who you need for God's favor to reflect in your life.
Naman was the captain of the host of the armies of the Syrian, but he was leprous. He had found Favor with God but he needed a servant girl to introduce him to the great Prophet Elisha, so he could secure the healing for his leprosy. 2Kings 5:1–3
Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan also knew this principle. When David called him to come, he bowed himself. There are times you need to accept that this thing, this glory, this power is no longer in your household anymore, and you honor whoever has it now.
Even when Ziba has manipulated David into giving him all that was allotted to Mephibosheth, when David asked Mephibosheth to go share with Ziba, he said, no my Lord, let him have it all. As long as my king comes again in peace unto his own house. 2 Samuel 19:29-30. He knows he can always have whatever he need as long as he is still in a good relationship with King David.
5. BE GOOD TO PEOPLE
Philippians 2:18 - Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] –
This here has a whole lot to do with cultivating an attitude that can only be found in a man full of the fruit of the spirit.
Notice that the term used was singular - “Fruit"
Galatians 5:22 — But the fruit of the spirit is Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance: against such there is no law.
Show compassion to people, learn it.
These are traits of the fruit of the spirit; grow in them.
Jesus didn't just say I am called to preach the gospel. There were days he gave the people food to eat. He fed them with the word of Life and food for their stomach.
Don’t just ignore that person trying to get his faulty car off the road, don’t always mind your business when someone is in need. You might just be the only help such person could get at that moment. You have all the ability to love, to be joyful, to be gentle, meek and be at Peace with all men.
These are attitudes found in Christ, and if God made you in his image and likeness, such traits also is in you.
Job found favor again with God after he prayed for his friends, but that was not the only thing that restored his wealth.
In Job 42:11 - Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold.
Imagine a whole nation giving one person one thousand naira each.
The favor of God is already with you, activate it by gaining favor with men.
Men are passages through which God will realise his purposes in your life. If you focus on God and repel men, you will only have the spiritual knowledge of God’s favor, you will never receive it as a substance.
Take Note of these keys, and watch how your life will be a manifestation of God’s favor.
If you are blessed by any of our article, please clap as many times as possible as it makes the post more visible to those who may like it or learn from it. You can also share your insight on the topic, so myself and other readers can learn. Let’s equip the world with the tablet of revelations.
