Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. – (Psalm 5:12)
Every one of you reading this wants to have favor. We want to have favor with our spouses, our children, our grandchildren, we want to have favor on the job, with friends and even our neighbors. We just need favor! So, what can get us into the favor of God, favor with people, favor with relatives, and favor with our neighbors?
When I looked at Jesus’ life and how He grew in wisdom and favor with God and man, I noticed it came after he submitted to his parents. Had you ever seen it that way? I hadn’t either! But you know how you read the Bible and you think, “Where did that come from? I never saw that in this light.” That’s because the Bible is Spirit and Life. It’s not just a book; it has life to it. It is the Living Word!
Luke 2:51-52 says, Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man, but it came after they returned home, and Jesus submitted to His parents and was obedient to them.
You want favor? Submission brings favor! It did in Jesus’ life. So, what makes us think we can do our own thing and still have favor? No. It’s submission that can give you favor with God and with man.
Jesus, I declare that I can have favor with God and with man. But it’s not by being lawless and going my own way; it is submission that brings favor.
