Finding Favor

I am sharing a devotional with you which first appeared in Real Victory for Real Life, published by America's Keswick, 2004.

When I was at the height of my speaking career, I generally watched for bargain airfares and often bought my tickets a year in advance. Monetarily, that was a smart move, but if the reservations ever needed to be changed, it could be a nightmare.

I was scheduled to make a trip to the mid-west, but the sudden death of my father mandated I change the reservation. I dreaded making the call to American Airlines, fearing how much it would cost to change my reservation. As I was holding on the phone line, I felt God prompting me to say "I need favor" rather than "I need to change my reservation." The prompting was very explicit. "Do not ask for A favor. Ask for favor." Much to my relief, the agent was very kind and understanding and seemed to respond well to my request for favor. The fee change charge was nominal, and I was thrilled. As I was finishing the transaction, the agent said, "Mrs. Heavilin, the agent at the counter may not understand how I came up with the stated amount. Just tell her I gave you favor."

As I was standing at the ticket counter later that afternoon, the counter agent was busily pushing all kinds of buttons, but finally in exasperation, she said, "I just can't figure out how the telephone agent came up with this fare." I blurted, "Oh, he said to tell you he gave me favor!"

"Oh," the agent exclaimed, "I know what to do with that!" She pushed a few buttons and my ticket began to print. I had found favor with American Airlines. How do we find favor in the eyes of the Lord? First, we become His child, and we stay close to Him and follow His directions. Genesis 6:9 states: "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." We are human and thus will never be blameless from a human viewpoint, but when we can find favor with God by confessing our sins and walking with Him day by day He is quite willing to put His favor into action on our behalf.

"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis 6:8, NIV)

MWH