You are surrounded with God's favor!

“Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12 NIV)

The blessing of God’s divine favor is huge!

To be blessed with God’s favor is to be authenticated, authorized, certified, commissioned, confirmed, countersigned, deputized, designated, empowered, enabled, enfranchised, entitled, licensed, notarized, ordained, permitted, validated, and warranted by God’s grace!

Blessed in what you do

You obtain God’s blessings and favor by first, being adopted into God’s family (John 1:12), and secondly, by looking into the Word of God intently and doing what it says! “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:25 NASB)

What it means to be blessed

When most people think of what it means to be blessed, they imagine it to be a life without difficulties or problems. But, that’s not correct. Problems visit everyone from time to time. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33). To be blessed is to have God’s presence and help in the midst of trouble or trials. “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial.”  (James 1:12a NASB)

The blessed life of Joseph

A great example of what it means to “persevere under trial” and to be blessed with God’s favor, is the life of Joseph. (Gen. 37-50).

• He was blessed by his father – “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors.” (Gen. 37:3 KJV
• He was sold into slavery and yet was  blessed  – “The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” (Gen. 39:2 NIV)
• He was sent to prison and yet blessed – “The LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” (Gen. 39:21 NIV)
• He was brought before Pharaoh and yet blessed – “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." (Gen. 41:39-40 NIV)
• He was blessed to be a blessing to others – “Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” (Gen. 45:4-7 NIV)

Our covenant is greater!

We have a better covenant in the New Testament than Joseph had in the Old Testament (Heb. 8:6). God was with Joseph and blessed him, but God is within us through His Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 3:16).

We are blessed!

• We are blessed with God’s family favor – “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Eph. 1:5 NLT)
• We are blessed with God’s grace and peace – “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Pet. 1:2 NIV)
• We are blessed with every spiritual  blessing – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3 NIV)
• We are blessed with all our needs met  – “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19 NIV)
• We are blessed to be a blessing to others – “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 9:11 ESV)

The unmerited favor of God

“Grace,” according to the dictionary, is the unmerited favor of God toward mankind. The word “grace” is used over 170 times in the New Testament alone. Grace is not bought. It is a free gift of almighty God to needy mankind.” – Dr. Billy Graham