And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52) Last year was difficult for many people and my family wasn’t spared. After waiting for 6 months to receive our visa to Canada, our new baby decided to arrive the day after the visa was granted. We were in a fix. Should we wait another 6 months for her visa? She needed a passport first before we could make the visa application. We trusted God for His favor and to grant us favor before the Canadian immigration office and the Ghana High Commission. Indeed God came through for us at the right time but he used human vessels to change our story. Our story reiterates Luke 3:52. We need favor from both God and man to thrive. If Jesus the son of God grew in favor with God and men, then we need favor to survive as well. God directed us to message the Canadian immigration office and they were favorable towards us. God doesn’t issue visas, He works through men. Therefore favor with God alone isn’t enough. We need the human vessels to bring it to pass. Our Ghana passport appointment date was January 27 2021 but we left the UK on January 20 2021. Favor changed the story. Imagine praying to God for money to pay some bills and suddenly a friend calls and says that he feels led to send you some money. That is God working through man to bless you. However, if God impresses upon the hearts of people to bless you, favor with man releases those blessings. If not, your blessing will be blocked by men. Therefore, even as we pray to have favor with God, let us also pray for favour with men. Don’t be rude to strangers, don’t speak evil of people with higher authority. God can cause even the Gentiles to be your source of blessing She pleased him and won his favor. (Esther 2:9a) Do you know that favour can run in circles? Sometimes, in order to get to the top, God will have to cause different people to favor you. Esther was a poor Jewish orphan who rose to become a Persian queen. When God favors you, there are human systems that bring your glory to reality. Never underestimate the ability of man to take you to the top. God in time past and in our days still works through human vessels. Now, let’s consider the story of Esther. When queen Vashti lost favor with king Xerxes, she was deposed. Never think you are indispensable. When the search for a new queen began, Esther was chosen as well. Now, the first person to favor Esther was the Hegai, the one in charge of the Herem (Esther 2:9). He gave Esther the best training, the best beauty treatments and the best place. When it was time for Esther to go to the king, she won the favor of all who saw her (Esther 2:15) and ultimately won the favor of the king (Esther 2:17). Hegai knew exactly what pleased the king and that was how Esther was groomed. Remember, God works through human vessels. You may be favored by Heaven but disfavored men. We need the favor of God and men to get to our destiny. When Haman (Esther 3) disfavored the Jews, he sought to exterminate them all. But, when Esther found favor before the king, the verdict was turned (Esther 7). Haman and the other enemies of the Jews died in place of the Jews. Prior to this overturn, the Jews fasted and prayed for 3 days. Prayer is the key to unlock favor in multiple dimensions. Remember the widow and the ungodly judge? (Luke 18). We need to pray to open certain doors of favor. May our song be.. “God favored me”. May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands (Psalms 90:17). I always take my husband’s birthday as a World Cup (hahaha). I go all out to make sure that he gets the best celebration. Imagine if his actions make him lose my favor, I will probably do nothing or do it grudgingly. Even as I ponder about this, I realized we can have a daily banquet before God when He favors us. But, what happens when we lose favor with God? We don’t get to enjoy His banquet. Psalm 90:17 states that “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.” When God favors you, He will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail (Isaiah 58:11). Who does God favor? The one pure and righteous in his/her ways. The who stays away from the path of sin. The one who has washed his/her robes in the blood of Jesus. Psalm 1 is a perfect depiction of the blessed or favored person. “What will God not do for His favored children?” I am very certain about this, if we give God the first place in our lives, He will take us places. We grow in favor with God when we are in His perfect will. I pray for anyone reading this post (including me!) that God will favor you BIG TIME. May uncommon doors open for you even as you wait upon the Lord. He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. (Proverbs 18:22) Proverbs succinctly put it, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” Marriage is beautiful and if you approach it on God’s terms, you are sure to succeed. But if the foundation is not on God, it is likely that the enemy can penetrate and cause havoc. Unfortunately, those who built their marriages on the wrong foundations and obtained disfavor have succeeded in telling the world that marriage is bad. If you are married, can your spouse boast that he or she found what is good in you? If you are yet to marry, can such a testimony be made about you? There are no marriages in heaven but many people are on the highway to hell because of their marriages. So before you condemn the institution of marriage, go back to scriptures and check if you are in alignment with the word of God. Remember, there are certain favors that can only be received in marriage. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (Psalms 84:11) The sun gives illumination and brightens our day. The shield protects us from arrows that wreak havoc. The Lord is a sun (He gives enlightenment) and shield (He protects). He also bestows favor (grace) and honor (glory). He does not withhold any good thing from those whose walk is blameless (upright). Enlightenment, protection, favor and honor can change your destiny in a day. When we live in darkness (without knowledge), we lose our protection, favor and honor. God has made every provision for us to live in light. However, when the spiritual and physical systems are not aligned, we tend to lose our light and ultimately lose our protection, favor and honor. It is the Lord who bestows favor and honor but the human vessels bring it to fruition. We have many favored and honored people who are not living their full potential. The human systems have become barricades and have hindered their growth. You might have all the enlightenment and protection but it is possible to still mark time in life. This is because the favor and the glory that will propel you to greatness is not there. I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened. I pray that the Lord will be your shield. More importantly, I pray that the Lord will favor and honor you and the systems blocking your supernatural elevation will be taken away. Don’t forget that favor and honor are best enjoyed when God aligns the spiritual and physical components. I pray that you do not miss those people God has assigned to be your destiny helpers in Jesus name.
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