Feeling Lucky? It’s Not Luck, It’s Favor.

There’s a lot of talk about luck on St. Patrick’s Day.  People who know me often call me a lucky person.  Today I thought I would share the secret to my “luck” with you.  It’s not luck; it’s favor.

I think God blesses people.  I think many “coincidences” are God-ordained moments and opportunities.  In my opinion, many people are just favored, not necessarily lucky.  I also think that this has a lot to do with what we speak out of our mouths.  There is TREMENDOUS power in words (I could share enough on this for a whole series of posts).  If you’re somebody that always says, “I never win anything” or “I’m just not lucky” or “I don’t have good luck” etc.  Guess what…You’re going to have exactly what you say.  On the other hand if you say and agree with what God’s Word says, that you’re favored, then you’ll have exactly that!  You’ll be favored (or some might call it lucky).  Either way, it’s good to be favored or lucky.

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

Some good things that come into our lives are a direct consequence of our actions.  The flipside is true as well.  I think some bad luck is just flat-out reaping what you sow or in others words…Karma, getting what’s coming to you, or getting your comeuppance.  Eric actually thought I made that word up, when I said I hoped somebody would get their comeuppance (I think I actually said “comeupins” probably with a bit of a southern drawl).  So I looked it up to show him that it was a real word and that I didn’t make it up.  I think I have a lot of sayings that I picked up from my parents or grandparents that he’s never heard before so he thinks I just make stuff up.  In his defense…I really do sometimes! 🙂  In fact the other day I went to a Moms In Prayer luncheon with a friend, and we were admiring the table setting.  I told her that it was very “Pinterestable”.  One of the other ladies asked if that was a word, and I had to admit “No.  I just made that up.”  However, I did later go and google that word and found that other people actually already use it, so I guess I didn’t really make it up!  I didn’t make favor up though—it’s real.

As Christians, prosperity is something that is ours simply because we are children of God.  God wants us to be prosperous.  I don’t call my site Happy, Healthy & Prosperous for nothing!  I also believe that prosperity is so much more than wealth or monetary or superficial gain.  I believe that to an extent it does include those things, but it’s so much more.  To me, to be truly prosperous is to have what you need at the time you need it and to always have more than enough.  Prosperous people are blessed to be a blessing.  This may include wealth and material things, but I think it’s so much more than just that.  God wants us to be blessed and happy.  I believe that God gives His children favor and prosperity as part of the abundant life that He wants for us.  I also believe that God wants us to have good things not only in heaven but HERE on earth.

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” John 10:10 (AMP)

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13 (NIV)

I mean really, what kind of testimony would we have or be to others if we believed God wanted us to live an unlucky, unblessed, life in poverty lacking favor.  Who in their right mind would want that?  “Come be a Christian where you can never have good things, things are always going wrong and life sucks.”  This is NOT what God has in store for us.  Now please don’t get me wrong, being a Christian does not mean that things are always hunky-dory.  Sometimes, it’s quite the opposite, but we don’t stay there.  We’re even told in the bible to expect trials and tragedies due to living in a broken world, BUT we’re also told how to deal with them and overcome them when they come.

I have learned that the favor of God doesn’t just come to us because God likes Christians better or because He’s giving us special treatment but because He’s paying us back for what was stolen from us at some point or another.  An example of this was when the Israelites left Egypt with all of the riches they took with them.  They received the favor of God and favor with the Egyptians, not only because they were God’s chosen people and had a covenant with Him but because they we’re being repaid and restored for hundreds of years of slavery, mistreatment, murder of their children and so on (Exodus 12:31-42).

“And I will give these people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you go, you will not go empty-handed.” Exodus 3:21 (HCSB)

“The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.” Exodus 11:3 (NASB)

“The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked. And they stripped the Egyptians [of those things].” Exodus 12:36 (NLT)

If you have been “unlucky” or have not been walking or operating in your favor, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t available to you.  Remember, you have not because you ask not (James 4:3).  In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the oldest son got angry and offended when the father threw a party for the younger (less-deserving) son.  The father replied that “all that I have IS yours” (Luke 15:31).  The older son already had the favor of the father—he just wasn’t using it!  God’s blessing on others is not a rejection of YOU!  All that God has is available to you.  He also has an unlimited supply so just because he blesses somebody else does not mean it will run out before he gets to you.  He’s God—He can bless several people at the same time!  He’s a great multi-tasker too by the way. 

I have had the good fortune of confessing and claiming (verbally) favor upon myself and have reaped the rewards.  The people that know me laugh because others will look at me sometimes and say “Man, you’re really lucky” and then those who know me smile and say “Favor!”  I tend to win a lot of things (contests, door prizes, drawings, etc.), I get great deals on purchases, I often get great parking spots :), and things quite often seem to go my way.  DISCLAIMER: This is not always the case!  I’ve definitely had my fair share of bad fortune too.  More often than not though, I have found myself to be highly favored, especially when I verbally claim it.  In fact, God gave me this verse one time… 

“The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”” Luke 1:28 (NIV)

I don’t think that verse is exclusive to Mary (or to me).  God wants you to know that YOU are highly favored too!  So here’s my secret…

Take Some Practical Steps to Receive Favor:

• Watch your mouth. Stop saying negative things.
• Start confessing and claiming your favor. Here’s what I do… I say out loud the following sentences:
  1. I’m surrounded with favor as with a shield. (I stand on the scripture Psalm 5:12.)
  2. I’m blessed wherever I go.
  3. I have favor with people.
  4. I have favor with God.
  5. I have favor with _____ . (then I fill in the blank with whatever I need favor for…parking, getting a good deal on a car, bunco, winning a ring at a jewelry show, getting in to Paula Deen’s restaurant without reservations because I ignorantly didn’t know I’d need them, and so on…you get the point!)

• Realize that favor belongs to you—it’s part of your covenant with God. Favor is part of the package deal—it comes along with your salvation.  To help you come to terms with this concept.  It may be helpful for you to do a word study (focusing on a particular word) on “favor”.  I can share more later on how to do a word study.  For now, here’s a few verses on favor to look up to get you started (by the way, clicking on these will take you to the verses on Bible.com:  Psalm 5:12, Exodus 3:21, Exodus 11:3, Exodus 12:36, Exodus 33:13, Exodus 33:17, Genesis 6:8, Genesis 29:21, Daniel 1:9, Esther 2:15-18, Esther 5:2, 1 Samuel 2:26, Ruth 2:10, Proverbs 3:4, Proverbs 8:35, Proverbs 18:22, Deuteronomy 33:23, Acts 7:10, Acts 7:46, Luke 1:28, Luke 1:30, Luke 2:52, Psalm 30:5, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 90:17, Psalm 106:4, Proverbs 11:27.

Another option is to go to www.biblehub.net and type the word “favor” into the search box.  You be able to look at verses in several different translations all on one page at this website.  It’s one of my go-to sites.

So whether it’s the Luck of the Irish or the Favor of God’s Children…either way may you have a blessed day and week!  Oh… and prayers for grace while my kids are on Spring Break this week are much appreciated! 😉

What about you—are you lucky or unlucky?  Do you believe in favor?  Leave a comment below (click on the post link to join the conversation if you’re viewing through e-mail) or take the conversation to your favorite social media channel (sharing links below). 

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