For you, Lord, bless the righteous one;
you surround him with favor like a shield. Psalm 5:12 (CSB)
The Blessing of His Favor
I love the way this verse paints a picture of God’s favor surrounding us. The blessing of His favor protects and encompasses us. In everday life, we typically only use the word favor in the context of asking someone for a favor or doing a favor for a friend or acquaintance.
However, in Christianese circles, we use the word in a different way. We speak of God’s favor, grace, and mercy – sometimes interchangeably. I got a little curious as I was reading in the Bible about the way God’s blesses us about the actual meaning of “favor”. So, I looked it up!
Ratsown
The word “favor” is from the Hebrew word Ratsown, which means pleasure, delight, goodwill, and acceptance, according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.
*Side Note: You can access Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (in addition to other study helps) for free at www.biblestudytools.com – it is fantastic online resource for studying the bible!
Take a moment and imagine being completely surrounded by God’s pleasure. His delight. His goodwill. His acceptance.
Surrounded. Like a shield. This series is called Blooming Blessings. This summer, as plants spring to life all around us, I am picturing God’s blessings blooming all around us. For the blessing of His favor, I am drawn to a plant called Purple Persian Shield Plant. The leaves have royal purple centers. Purple is the color of royalty and often considered a color representing God. I like thinking about how we have His favor surrounding us like a shield when we have the God at our center.
Surrounded by God’s favor. That is truly a blessed life. I know I want that.
How do I set myself up for this blessing?
Then, how do we get the blessing of His favor? Psalm 5:12 says that God blesses “the righteous one” with this kind of favor.
In the case of this verse, the Hebrew word that is translated “righteous” means “just and lawful in conduct and character”. We are made righteous on a spiritual level through our acceptance of the gift of salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection.
A just and lawful life
However, after accepting His gift of salvation, we have to walk out our salvation, living a life of righteousness with the help of the Holy Spirit.
We all make mistakes. We all sin. There is forgiveness and mercy for those times.
Still, our overall lives should be characterized by just and lawful conduct, our Christ-centered character a light in the darkness of this sin-filled world.
Doers of the Word
But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22 (CSB)
Being doers of the word is all about taking action to live a just and lawful life, as Christ taught us.
When we live like this, we are blessed. The blessing of His favor surrounds us. Ratsown encompassing us, protecting us. His pleasure. His delight. His goodwill. His acceptance. His favor.
Action Step:
It is time to be honest with ourselves.
1. Are we letting our righteousness slide, presuming on God’s forgiveness, rather than living in gratitude? Are there areas of our lives where we could be doing a better job of living just and lawful lives? Does our character and conduct point to Christ?
2. On the other hand, are we living a just and lawful life after accepting Christ’s salvation, and yet we hold on to our past guilt rather than accepting the favor God wants to lavish on us?
Time to assess where we are on the spectrum of righteous living. To ask forgiveness for areas where we are too lax and to fully accept forgiveness for areas already forgiven. Let’s ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to live a righteous life and thank God for His supernatural favor.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, You are our Helper and we need Your help to live a just and lawful life that will be a light to those in need of Jesus. Please open our eyes to the areas of our lives that need more righteous conduct and character. Help us to live with God at the very center of our lives. Thank you for setting us up to receive the blessing of favor.
Father God, thank you for your pleasure, delight, goodwill, and acceptance that surround us. We love you and want the blessing of your favor on our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
