FOUND FAVOR
Luke 1:30 (KJV)
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.”
What is the favor of God? Finding favor means gaining approval, acceptance, or special benefits or blessings. We can also see in the Word of God, in many translations, that the words favor, grace, and mercy are interchangeable. When we see favor given in the Bible, it seems to be given to the righteous and those whose heart is right toward God.
When you think about Mary—an ordinary young woman, not deity, not special in any way except God chose her out of all the young women of Israel—it could also have been because of who she was engaged to (espoused).
Mary found favor with God. Jesus, as He was growing up, also found favor with God and then with men. Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” So, favor seems to be something that can increase in the wisdom and favor of God. We see Samuel also grew in stature and in favor with the Lord (1 Samuel 2:26).
Can we? Yes — but you need to know how to obtain God’s favor. First, we need to be born again. Proverbs 8:35 (ESV)says, “For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.”
You must also realize you are righteous, and one of the benefits of righteous standing with the Lord is His favor on your life. Jesus made you righteous; He became sin so you could become righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Psalm 5:12 (NIV)says, “Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” Proverbs 12:2 says that a good man, or a righteous man, obtains favor from the Lord.
If we look at two of the men recorded in the Old Testament, we see that Noah and Joseph are both mentioned as righteous men in their generation, and it was credited to them as righteousness because of their believing and acting on what God had spoken to them; they were both said to walk in the favor of God.
What am I saying to you? God wants to show you the same kind of favor He showed Mary, Jesus, Samuel, Noah, and Joseph. You are righteous because of what Jesus has done for you. With a revelation of your righteousness, you can grow in wisdom, maturity, and in the favor of God. When you believe in and for the favor of God, you will not just have favor with Him, but this favor will begin to manifest in having favor with men — just like Jesus did.
What is favor? It’s not fair! That’s the whole point — God once again giving you something you didn’t deserve or earn! Receive the favor of God this Christmas season and walk in it!