God’s Favorites

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 30. Here is what I learned.

When things were going great I crowed, “I’ve got it made. I’m God’s favorite. He made me king of the mountain.” Psalm 30:6 (MSG)

God’s favorite. Being a favorite can be a lot of fun! You get extra treats, you get to enjoy special celebrations, everything is taken care of, and you just sit back and enjoy. 

But being a “favorite” also brings responsibilities and a higher standard of accountability. 

As I thought about “being God’s favorite” a couple people came to mind; Job and Mary.

Job was a “favorite” of God’s because, “He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.” Job 1:1 (NLT)

God knew that Job was a “favorite” and even brought Job to the attention of Satan. Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” Job 1:8 (NLT)

Mary, was also a “favorite”. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! Luke 1:28-30 (NLT)

First and foremost, both Job and Mary were a “favorite” because they obeyed God. It’s that simple. They were people of integrity and feared God.

Secondly, because they were a “favorite” both were asked to do “more than the average person”. Being a favorite brings responsibility. 

Thirdly,  simply because they went through, what we would consider hardships, they did not turn from God, rather they “got to know God better”. 

And lastly, they remained a “favorite of God’s”  because they continued to obey and honor Him, not based upon the blessings or “good times”, rather because of Who God is. 

Being a “favorite” does have it’s blessings! But it also has it’s responsibilities. To create a positive day, I need to remember that if it want to really be one of “God’s Favorites”, then I must first and foremost fear God!