FAVOUR LIKE A SURROUNDING SHIELD

“For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with FAVOR You will SURROUND him as with a SHIELD” – Psalm 5:12

Favour is an active weapon. For the Righteous in Christ, FAVOUR IS LIKE A SURROUNDING SHIELD: “For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with FAVOR You will surround him as with a SHIELD” (Psa.5:12). The word ‘bless’ means to be divinely endowed to prosper; ‘righteous’ means having the right standing with God, and ‘Favour’ is undeserved goodwill. Favour surpasses passive “pity”! Favour is a tangible “blessing” from God, not just a transient mood with Him. God’s Favour surrounds and protects the righteous like a shield – a defensive covering. The ancients used extensive shields to cover their entire person from the enemies’ arrows. God is willing to bless the righteous and protect him or her with the defensive weapon of favour. His favour secures and protects you against all anti-favour manoeuvres of the wicked. ‘Favour’ is God’s Gaze, His undivided attention, and the shining of His Face of delight upon a person or group of people. That’s why true success in any human endeavour is a function of favour.

Divine Favour not only protects; it also attracts human favour. The first thing that people come into contact with in your life would be your “Favour-shield”! Favour was the divine force that operated in the life of Daniel. He and many other Israelites were prisoners in Babylon, but for reasons that cannot be explained naturally, he had favour with the leaders of the land: “Now God had brought Daniel into FAVOR and good will of the chief of the eunuchs” (Dan.1:9). In latter accounts we learn that Daniel had so much favour with the leaders of the land, he was elevated to prestigious positions in the Babylonian kingdom. Even though the circumstances were stacked against him, Daniel eventually became the prime minister of Babylon. All of that was in the Old Testament, but Favour is part of God’s eternal Character, which finds full expression in Christ Jesus. In the New Covenant, favour is a Covenant Blessing!

Divine favour is supernatural; it is not of human origin; it is not subject to rationalisation. Although favour is incomprehensible to natural reasoning, a Christian author suggests that there are two types of favour: one is random and the other is covenant-based. Random favour manifests from time to time in God’s creation as and whenever He wills. For example, random favour is in operation when someone that is not born again and outside the covenant gets blessed or healed in a miracle crusade. This type of favour is highly unpredictable, as it is not always clear or sure when one can expect it to happen. But biblical Favour – the covenant favour of God – though sovereign, is purposeful, specific, predictable and sure. It has Heaven’s guarantee with it. Every promise of God in the Bible is a covenant promise to the believer; and we can demand for and activate them.

Whoever is in Christ is righteous: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2Cor.5:21). This means to have a right standing with God without any form of guilt, shame or condemnation; to be able to come boldly into God’s Presence with freedom of expression. From a natural perspective, “favour is not fair” because it is not based on merit, but on God’s sovereign choice and will. He shows mercy on to whom He wants to show mercy. Beloved in Christ, begin to see yourself as the righteousness of God in Christ and having a covenant with Him. See yourself as blessed by the Lord – being divinely endowed to prosper. See yourself as being wholly surrounded by the shield of favour – blessing, goodness and mercy that you never merited, and call them forth by faith.

Meditate on Words of Favour. Confess them boldly, and you will see them come to pass in your life. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus; you are blessed and highly favoured in all you step out to do. You can be surrounded by the best of God’s blessings. Believe His Word and Receive!