The Favor of God

by Jerry Savelle

  I’ve had people ask me, “Do you mean that confessing things like that over my children will cause them to turn out that way?”

  My answer is always, “They will unless there’s divine intervention.” The Word of God teaches us to “train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). The words we speak over our children, good or bad, carry great power. This is why it is so important to declare God’s divine favor over our families on a daily basis.

  For those who were not brought up hearing words of grace and divine favor spoken over them, I have good news. The Word of God can be used to tear down “arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). Paul described the Word of God as “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Through the Word of God, we have the ability to change our thinking and to cause it to line up with what God says about us. God says that we are made in His image. We have been crowned with glory and honor. We walk in authority and dominion.

  Armed with the name of Jesus and the Word of God, we can take authority over the untruths and disheartening circumstances that seem to be controlling our lives. God’s favor can change even the most impossible-looking situation.

  Remember Psalm 84:11? “The LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace [divine favor] and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” I don’t care how dire your circumstances may be or how much money you may need or how negative a report you may have received from the doctor or the lawyer—or even how many times you may have been told you would never amount to anything. When the favor of God comes on the scene, failure and defeat are no longer inevitable. The favor of God brings good things into your life; it brings prosperity.

  When we truly understand just how important we are to our heavenly Father, doubt and insecurity will vanish, and we will walk in the fullness of the heritage of favor that is ours in Jesus Christ.

  4

  GROWING IN GOD’S FAVOR

  My wife tells me all the time, “Jerry, you walk in more favor than anybody I’ve ever met. God is always doing something for you.”

  My usual response is: “I can’t help it if He loves me and I’m his favorite child.” I don’t mean this in an arrogant way. It’s just that I’m confident in the knowledge of who I am in Christ and the fact that I walk in the favor of God.

  The apostle Paul gave Timothy, whom he considered to be a son in the faith, these words of encouragement: “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:1). Paul was instructing Timothy to be strong in the divine favor that was his in Jesus Christ. He wanted him to be strong in this favor and to come to expect its manifestation in his life.

  As our Father, God wants us to become highly developed in our expectancy of His favor manifesting in our lives. He wants this for us not only when we are in times of need, but also on an everyday basis. I can assure you that once you begin to experience God’s favor on a consistent basis, it won’t be long before you’ll be declaring that you are His favorite child. Don’t worry; in the expanse of God’s vast love, there is plenty of room for each of us to be His favorite child.

  Carolyn and I were in Singapore one time, and I had the opportunity to try on some Hugo Boss suits. The sales associate selected a beautiful sports coat for me to try on. He took great care to see that it fit properly. It really was a perfect fit, and I wanted to buy it, so I asked how much it cost. When he told me the coat alone cost $1,500, I said, “Get thee behind me, Satan! For $1,500 I don’t get any pants?”

  “No, sir, just the sports coat.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” I said. “Get this thing off of me.”

  Please don’t misunderstand me. If somebody wants to spend $1,500 for a sports coat, that’s fine with me. I’m just not going to pay that much money, because I believe that with the favor of God, I can have that sports coat without paying full price for it.

  Several months later, I was visiting my friend Dan in New York City. I had just been blessed with some money, so I asked if there was a place in the city where I could find a Hugo Boss suit and not have to pay the world’s price for it. I remember telling him, “I’m not asking for a preacher’s discount; I just believe in getting everything I can for my money.”

  Dan said, “I’ve lived here most of my life, and I don’t know of any place like that.” Turning his attention to more pressing matters, he said, “It’s almost noon; how about my wife and I take you to lunch?”

  “Okay then,” I told him, “let’s go eat. We’ll just let God work things out where the suit is concerned.”

  The three of us got in Dan’s car and drove across town to a parking garage. Dan explained that we would leave the car there and walk several blocks to the restaurant. When we stepped out of the garage, I had absolutely no idea where I was or what street I was on, so I just kept in step with Dan and his wife. As we turned this way and that, making our way through the crowded streets of New York City, we were all talking nonstop—preaching to one another, testifying to what God was doing in our lives, and talking about the Word.

  Finally, Dan said, “Wait a minute! We’re going the wrong way. We should have turned left at the last street, and we went right.” So we turned around to go the other direction.

  That’s when Dan’s wife said, “I don’t believe it—look!” Right in front of us was a men’s clothing store, and hanging in the front window was a huge sign that read, “Hugo Boss suits—half price.”

  When the favor of God manifests in my life, the first thing I do is declare, “That’s the favor of God.” So that’s what I did. The next thing I always do is respond to that favor. So that day, I forgot about lunch and went straight inside that store, where I ended up getting not one, but four Hugo Boss suits. I’m telling you, they were fine-looking suits—and I didn’t have to pay the world’s price for them.

  But the best part of that experience was that I developed a relationship with the man who helped me with my selection, and he told me he would sell me suits at that price as long as I wanted to buy them. “You don’t even have to come here,” he said. “We’ll just measure you and then we can send them to you anywhere you are.”

  As we left the store several hours later, my friends said, “Brother Jerry, we’ve never seen anything like this. How long are you going to be with us, and can we have some of what you’ve got?”

  “I’m going to be here one more day,” I told them. “I’ve got the favor of God on me, and if you get any closer, it’ll get on you, too.”

  The Bible tells us that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart (see Ps. 37:4). In this particular instance, I desired a Hugo Boss suit—without the retail price tag—and God gave me what I desired and more. You see, when our lifestyles are pleasing to Him—when we order our lives according to His Word—then our desires are going to be in line with His will for our lives, and that’s when the favor of God shows up.

  It’s important to understand that although the favor of God is available for us to walk in on a consistent basis, it will not come our way if doubt and unbelief fill our thoughts.

  ALTHOUGH THE FAVOR OF GOD IS AVAILABLE FOR US TO WALK IN ON A CONSISTENT BASIS, IT WILL NOT COME OUR WAY IF DOUBT AND UNBELIEF FILL OUR THOUGHTS.

  The Word of God tells us to “gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace [divine favor] that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:13, KJV). In other words, we have a part to play when it comes to walking in divine favor.

  According to the Word of God, our part is to think soberly. Our part is to exercise our faith and believe for the favor of God. What is going on in our heads will make or bre
ak us, because our thoughts determine our words, and our words determine our actions.

  The Amplified version of 1 Peter 1:13 says that we are to “brace up [our] minds” as we hope, or expect, God’s favor to be brought to us. THE MESSAGE translation says that we are to “put [our] mind[s] in gear.” The various translations of this passage indicate that expectancy is not just a spiritual exercise, but a mental one as well.

  Becoming Favor-minded

  I fully expect the favor of God to come into every situation that I am, or will be, experiencing. I like to describe this mindset as being “favor-minded.” In other words, my mind is unchangeably set on the fact that divine favor is coming to me.

  Becoming favor-minded doesn’t happen automatically when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The Word tells us that we are responsible for taking control of our minds and thinking soberly, which means we are to think “soundly.” I’ve heard some people argue that it’s not possible to think this way, because there’s no way for us to control our thoughts. But that’s not what the Bible says. We’re told to “[cast] down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). If the Word of God says we can do something, then we can do it.

  We are also told, in Romans 12:2, to “be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s], that [we] may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” It is the will of God that we walk in His divine favor. This is why it is so important that we renew our minds to this truth. What is going on in our minds, along with what we speak, plays a part in whether we see the favor of God manifest in our circumstances. If Satan can successfully distract us in our thoughts and speech, causing us to focus on the negative, it is highly improbable that we will experience the favor of God. With the absence of God’s favor, there is inevitably the absence of peace.

  In one of Paul’s familiar greetings, he wrote the following: “Grace [divine favor] and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet. 1:2). Notice the connection between divine favor and peace. The Amplified Bible reads like this: “May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

  Paul tells us that we can have the favor of God and the peace of God multiplied in our lives, which will result in freedom from fear. Once, after reading this verse, I wrote the following note in my Bible: “My life is increasing with the divine favor of God and the freedom from all fear.”

  Fear of what?

  Fear that this might not turn out well.

  Fear that I might not get the amount of money I need.

  Fear that this situation may not result in my good.

  The Word of God says that we can multiply and increase in the favor of God. The more I take control of my mind and build upon my awareness and expectancy of God’s favor, the less I will have to deal with the fear of failure.

  God’s favor in our lives means there will be less and less fear. When we continually expect the favor of God to manifest, it’s unlikely that we’re going to be fearful about the outcome of our situations. We can actually get to the point that fear of failure does not even cross our minds, because we are boldly expectant of the favor of God manifesting in every situation.

  One of the Scripture verses I like to meditate on is Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Let’s think about this for a moment. If there is a throne of grace, we now understand that it’s a throne of divine favor—and we are told to come boldly to that throne. We don’t have to slip up on the backside of the throne of God, begging for His mercy and His favor, hoping that we are worthy of it. No! We can come boldly to the throne of divine favor for the purpose of obtaining mercy and divine favor in our time of need. In other words, when I go to the throne of divine favor, I expect that when I leave, I will have received the help I need. I expect to have received the divine favor that will change my circumstances.

  I challenge you to take this verse in Hebrews and meditate on it. Renew your mind to its truth. Whatever difficult situation you may be facing—financial, marital, family, health—know that you have access to divine favor. You can go boldly to the throne, expecting God to help you with manifestations of His favor.

  Developing Faith in the Favor of God

  It is imperative that we develop our faith in the favor of God. Knowing that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1), we learn to expect God’s favor as we go boldly to the throne of grace.

  In chapter 2, we discussed the importance of declaring God’s favor when we face problems of mountainous proportions. Jesus said, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:22-23). We are to use our faith in the favor of God to speak to those mountains until they become molehills. This is how we exercise and develop our faith in the favor of God.

  WE ARE TO USE OUR FAITH IN THE FAVOR OF GOD TO SPEAK TO THOSE MOUNTAINS IN OUR LIVES UNTIL THEY BECOME MOLEHILLS.

  I believe the reason some of the mountains we face seem to be so stubborn is that we have not been developing our faith in the favor of God by speaking to them. We can hope they will move, and we can spend countless sleepless nights wondering when they are going to leave. But until we exercise our faith in the favor of God by commanding those mountains to depart, nothing is going to happen.

  The more we speak to the mountains in our lives, the more we will see the favor of God manifesting and moving those mountains. In turn, the more we see our mountains move, the greater our faith will become. There is no mountain that can stand against the favor of God, no matter how great it might seem.

  As we see the favor of God at work to remove our mountains, it’s important to begin thanking God on a daily basis for His favor in our lives. David said, “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Ps. 86:15). The word “gracious” in this verse means that God is “favorable, or disposed to show favor.” There’s one thing I want to point out about David: He continually praised God for His goodness, His mercy, His grace, and the favor that was on his life.

  I challenge you to watch for and expect God’s favor, and to believe for it to manifest every day of your life. When it does, no matter how small that manifestation may seem in your estimation, give God praise for it. Immediately declare, “That’s the favor of God!”

  There are those who will say, “You just never know what God is going to do.” These people believe that whatever will be, will be. They stumble through life, taking hard knocks and hoping that everything will eventually be okay. But as Christians, we have the right to believe for divine favor.

  When the Bible talks about the elect of God, it’s talking about us. Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). We have been chosen, and we have been crowned with glory and honor. We ought to be walking in that glory and honor, knowing who we are in Christ, and never just taking whatever the devil thinks he can dish out.

  I believe that developing faith in the favor of God is something that has been overlooked by many in the Body of Christ. Don’t misunderstand; I’m not talking about going on some ego trip. I’m not talking about getting into some form of arrogance or pride, or being high-minded. I’m talking about developing faith in the fact that the favor of God will turn every adversity in your life into a victory.

  I don’t know anyone who hasn’t at some time been under tremendous pressure and had to deal with a situation that seemed impossible. I know I�
��ve experienced this kind of pressure many times. But each time I stood in faith and declared the favor of God, I’ve watched what was once an overwhelming situation turn into a testimony of victory.

  You know, the devil would like it if we forgot those testimonies. He wants us to stay overwhelmed and in a position where we don’t consider the miracles that God has already wrought for us. But the Word of God tells us that “our brethren … overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:10-11). God wants us to remember our victories, and He wants us to rehearse our testimonies.

  The Old Testament includes many examples of God performing miracles and bringing victory in the lives of His people. Every time the Israelites experienced a miraculous victory, the first thing God instructed them to do was to place stones at the site of the victory as a memorial—a reminder of what He had done. Every time they came that way again and walked past that place, He wanted them to be reminded of the victory.

  Similarly, God wants to use the testimonies of His work in our lives as memorials that help us remember. He wants us to think about our victories, rehearse them, and never forget them. Reminding ourselves about God’s miracles in our lives strengthens our faith in the favor of God. Talking about our victories serves as a great weapon against the adversary, particularly when he’s endeavoring to overwhelm us with a problem. When we recall the miracles of God and how His divine favor moved formidable mountains, our faith will be energized. Anytime our faith is energized, not only will it move mountains, but it will also overcome the devil.