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!

Nice Gift!

I've mentioned one of my favorite books before, but want to highlight it again.....because I received a very nice gift yesterday!

Pain Perplexity and Promotion 
by Bob Sorge is a great book!

 Last night when I checked my mail, there was an autographed copy of the book!

What a wonderful gift!!! 

 Thank you Mr. Sorge!

I recommend this book very highly. It has been an awesome help to me as I travel my chronic pain journey. There are so many potent quotes, that if I listed them all here, I'd have to write the entire book!

Here are a few of my favorite quotes.

"Job suffered, not because of what he did wrong, but because of what he did right. Had it not been for his righteousness, God would never bragged on him to Satan in the first place (see Job 1:8). It was his uncommon holiness that precipitated his trials." page 9

"In some situations, God steps back and says, 'Too easy. If I step in now, they won't glorify My name for the answer.' Thus God waits things out a bit, and lets the situation become even more critical so that there will be no question about the source when He intervenes with His sovereign deliverance. He loves to do the impossible!" page 26

And my VERY favorite quote!
"I wonder what would have happened if Job's friends, instead of talking to Job about God, had talked to God about Job." page 31

Those are just three quotes from a 177 page book. My book is full of highlighted sections and pages with post-it flags. The book is published by Oasis House.

Sometimes reading a special book or passage from the Bible can give you something to meditate on throughout the day. Meditating on positive thoughts aid you in creating a positive day. When a negative thought tries to enter your mind, focus on that passage and it will help you change your focus!