Skip to main content

God's Favor

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

This scripture is life giving to me today.  I was thinking about God's favor and how people in the present culture want to equate favor with blessing and blessing with only good things, including wealth.  Well I have news for you.  The angels didn't say, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth wealth to men on whom his favor rests."  Nope. They didn't even say "blessing to men on whom his favor rests". The angels declared "PEACE to men".  Favor in God means you get a peace that passes all understanding.  I wonder how Mary felt as she watched Jesus die on the cross.  I have a feeling that there was deep, deep sadness and yet, I believe, in the midst of that sadness she felt an incredible peace.  So what is the peace of God.  For me, it is a stillness of my spirit.  A quiet calm deep inside, even though the storm rages.  It's an assurance of what my heart knows, and joy in the midst of weeping sadness.  I would not want to presume that God's favor rests on me, but I know that I have been given the peace that the angels spoke of when Jesus was born.  And I know, without a doubt, that this peace comes from the risen Christ through His Spirit working in me.  Tears of sadness flow for my mom while my soul is at peace in Jesus.  Glory to God for He is the reason we live in Resurrection!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For Mom

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. This is a post for Mom.  She is the embodiment of these words written by Paul.  When I think of Mom and who God created her to be, this is it.  Each of these phrases describes her perfectly.  Mom learned very early on in her walk with Jesus to let Him have His way in her life.  Who she is and has been to people is the testament to that.  Her patience with a super naughty 2-year old, namely me, rivaled that of Job.  I don't ever remember her getting angry.  Quite frankly, Mom and the word angry in the same sentence is laughable.  She never bragged or boasted about us (even though we know she's proud of us) because that wouldn't be showing love to her listener.  Mom was never rude, she was always serving others, and she was never judgmental of anyone, no matter their past or
2 comments
Read more

His Strength

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. I was prompted to read this verse and it was perfect for today, of course.  All of Psalm 100 is praise to God.  For me today, I am praising God because He was faithful in something He had revealed to me a while ago.  Let me explain.  Have you ever asked God for His strength?  Not just strength, but His strength.  This is something that I was prompted to do about a year ago, not to just ask for strength in general, but to specifically request His strength to be given to me.  I know it sounds a little like a bit of rhetoric, but keep reading. In requesting God's own strength, I have noticed something tremendous has happened each time.  When God bestows His strength within me, it is so much more than just endurance.  His strength comes with clarity of mind, lightening of the spirit, and a depth of inner joy that cannot help but make me smile.  I feel energized in a way
2 comments
Read more

The Heart of Jesus

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. I have had a difficult time finding a single verse today.  I have been all over my Bible, reading and thinking.  I'm settling on this verse, mostly because it is closely related to one of my favorite verses.  I sometimes get caught up in thinking I need to do certain things to grow in my faith.  These things are not inherently bad, nor are they necessarily good.  Two big stumbling blocks for me are fasting and tithing.  I find myself getting hooked into the religious value of them rather than the relational value.  I find that spending time with God gives me a clearer picture of my own motives for wanting to do these things.  I find that I usually feel the need to fast when I'm feeling poorly about my body image.  I find that wanting to tithe usually comes after reading verses in the Old Testament about God blessing Israel for its offerings.  Both of these are motivated by my selfishness.  I am always am
Post a Comment
Read more