ICS Daily Devotions
Having Favor With God and Men
Daniel 1:9,17 Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.…As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
Having favor is a gift of God to the committed man of God, so that he might keep his commitment to be holy as He is holy. God honors those who choose to honor him regardless of the overwhelming “odds” against that person.
The Hebrew word for favor hesed speaks of the Lord’s loyal love, His covenant love, His steadfast, unfailing love and tenderness. It indicates faithfulness to a relationship. To show kindness or favor is to act in a loyal, loving way to a person. Hesed is the devoted love promised within a covenant. It is defined as love that is willing to commit itself to another by making its promise a matter of solemn record, and encompasses deeds of mercy performed by a more powerful party for the benefit of the weaker one.
Dan 6:23 Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.
The favor of God leads to favor with men. We need to truly believe in how God looks at us. He doesn’t look at us based on our own ability and strength nor in our self-righteousness because it is seen as filthy rags before Him. God has chosen to see us in Christ because He has intentionally blessed us with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. The people in the world can see the difference when we possess something that they do not have and grant us their favor.
Eph 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
He sees us as holy, righteous and blameless before Him in love! He sees us as the highly favored one because we are hidden in Christ whom He is well pleased. You and I need to walk around believing that we are highly favored, greatly loved and accepted by God, therefore this favor will bring about favor with men, too. Live it, believe it and claim it as you go forth for interview, business meetings and presentation!
Often time, the tribulations and challenges that we face are brought about by men who play politics and definitely some measure of it is influenced by the demonic realm. It is a spiritual warfare. The messenger of Satan to buffet us through their constant accusation and mental torment. We can take authority over it by speaking to the situation with the vested authority given by Christ to use His name. God will also infuse His grace into our heart and cause us to be strong when we are hard pressed on every side.
Learn to lean on Christ for when we are weak, He is strong. There are times when we are in the lion’s den but God will allow us to sleep in the den and prevent us to be eaten by the lion. His grace is sufficient for us and He has a good plan for our lives. His grace is made perfect in our weakness. The wonderful thing about Daniel’s life was the kings were impacted by the experiences and gave glory to God. Your bosses and colleagues will be able to see the presence and the act of God in your lives. All His resources is at our disposal because we are covenant partners with Him. We can have favor with both God and men!
Series: Living in the Lion’s Den
