You Are Surrounded with Favour
For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield. Psalm 5:12
When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his guilt but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court.
The judge asked, “Guilty, or not guilty?” When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, “That’ll be ten dollars — a dollar for every mile you went over the limit.”
Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. “You have violated the law,” he said. “The fine must be paid–but I am going to pay it for you.” He took a ten-dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! “That,” said Billy Graham, “is how God treats repentant sinners!”
The concept of favour has some very interesting connotations. It implies showing special kindness to a person or persons; to treat with exceptional goodwill; to show partiality; give preferential treatment. What the judge showed Billy Graham was exceptional kindness; a preferential treatment of some sort; what the judge showed Billy Graham was favour. Graham found favour with an earthly judge on the strength of his widely perceived uprightness. We, on the strength of Jesus’ righteousness, imputed to us by God, have found favour with the Judge of all – God.
In Psalm 5:12, the Psalmist says God will bless and surround the righteous with favour like a shield. Some might be tempted to remove themselves from the picture, thinking this habit or that one does not qualify them for God’s promise. The truth is, if you have repented and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, you are qualified. You have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and are walking in the light of His Word. Yes, you will sometimes slip and fall, but it will be just that, a slip, not a habit. And what you do in such instances is to get up, dust yourself off by His grace, and move on. The path of the righteous is like a shining light, shining brighter and brighter until the perfect day (Proverbs 4:18). You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21), and He will surround you with His favour as with a shield.
So this month, expect the favour of God to distinguish you; to pluck you out of sticky situations; to promote you above and beyond your natural capacity; to defend you. Live every day this month, and always, knowing that the favour of God encompasses you. We found favour in God’s sight when we first believed. He blotted out all the sins that had hitherto been counted against us and gave us an inheritance we did not deserve.
That favour is still at work on our behalf, available to us in the practical details of everyday life. Take your eyes away from your human frailty and place them on the righteousness of Christ. Walk in the light of who the Bible says you are – the righteousness of God in Christ. Walk in the favour of God. Nothing will be able to stop you from this day forward. This month, you will walk upon your high places. The favour of God will avail for you, in Jesus’ name! You have a heritage of favour. You are favoured!
As always, I look forward to reading your testimonies. If you require counselling or want us to prayerfully agree with you, feel free to send me a mail at pastortaiwo@tfolc.org.
I also encourage you to visit our websites www.tfolc.org, blog.pastortaiwoministries.org, www.discoveryforwomen.net,
www.thewomanleader.org, www.ruthandboaz.org, http://homeaffairs.tfolc.org,
and www.discoveryformen.org for more articles and resources.
God bless you.
Pastor Taiwo Odukoya
