How Your Faith Attracts God’s Favor
Preparation starts with the little things.
People often want to step into the full measure of their destiny at a young age. That would be like giving a seven-year-old the keys to the family car. The child wouldn’t know what to do with them! When Becky and I were in college, we accepted a ministry internship. At the time, we were ready to take on the world. However, once we started the internship, it was totally different from what we expected. Becky had to arrive at five o’clock in the morning to work as a cook. She also pulled challenging shifts in the children’s daycare area of the ministry.
On the other hand, my first task was to clean buses. It took me five days to scrub more than twenty vehicles. When Friday afternoon came along, I proudly said, “I washed all the buses!” The internship director said, “Good job! Now I want you to go back and clean the inside of each bus.” I had a pretty good attitude the first go-around, but while working on the insides, I was grumbling up a storm. However, the Lord used that internship to teach me the value of faithfulness.
A Foundation of Faithfulness
Luke 16:10 (AMP) says, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little thing is dishonest and in much.”
The skills we cultivate through being faithful with small things are the same skills we need to be faithful with large things. Faithfulness is a process. We don’t automatically understand how to be faithful when we become a Christian. If we did, God would go ahead and trust us with large things right off the bat.
So, you must learn how to be faithful in the little things. What are the little things? Your job. Your relationships. Your finances. Your spiritual life. Your talents. The little things are what you currently have in your hands. They are the responsibilities and joys you have been entrusted with today. Like the Parable of the Talents teaches, more will be added when you steward those things well. The increase that God provides is favor.
If you’ve ever played golf, you know that putting requires more than hitting the ball in a straight direction. To sink the shot, you must be mindful of the terrain and other environmental factors. If there is a hill or wind, you may have to putt the ball away from the hole. Then the ball will curve around the obstacle and land in the cup.
When it comes to being faithful in the small things, it may feel like you’re putting away from the hole at first. For instance, say that your dream is to be an author, but you’re currently working at a coffee shop. If you’re faithful and do the job to the best of your ability, favor will follow. Perhaps you’ve progressed to the point where you’re managing someone else’s manuscript. Rather than complaining that you’re not writing your own books yet, be faithful and soak up the lessons God has for you in this season. God’s favor will follow and promote you at the right time.
As Psalm 75:6-7 (KJV) says, “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Everything God wants to do in your life will be built upon the foundation of faithfulness. God often teaches us how to be faithful through serving someone else.
Serve Another Person’s Vision
Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of earthly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that [earthly wealth] which belongs to another [whether God or man, and of which you are a trustee], who will give you that which is your own? (Luke 16:11-12 AMP)
According to Jesus, a key component of faithfulness is serving others. We never graduate from serving. Jesus, the Lord of the universe, washed the disciples’ feet! As you continue to grow, there will always be an opportunity to serve someone else’s vision. This applies to everyone, whether you’re a CEO or a college student. In fact, as the CEO of Andrew Wommack Ministries and Charis Bible College, I serve the vision of Andrew and Jamie Wommack. I also ensure the employees in my downline (all 1,200+ of them) have everything they need to fulfill the vision of the ministry.
There’s a spiritual principle at work here. It’s true for Christians who work in churches and Christians who work in the marketplace. Favor follows faithful service. When you serve, you realize that your purpose is bigger than you. Service purifies selfish ambition—and we all have some. When we are faithful in serving another person’s vision, we develop the kind of character that can be faithful in serving God’s vision for our lives. However, faithful service requires patience.
Patience
In today’s day and age, we are addicted to instant gratification. The phone in my pocket is a constant reminder of that. Every morning, I pop my breakfast into the microwave. With the push of a button, ready-to-eat oatmeal appears. When I was younger, it took me much longer to cook the same meal in a skillet.
Nobody likes to talk about patience. We want what we want when we want it. Has God ever given you a promise, only to have you wait for years until it’s fulfilled? Maybe you’re still waiting. As hard as it is to wait, God doesn’t dangle carrots. When He makes a promise, it will come to pass.
A pastor I know defines patience as “faith enduring over a long period of time.” One of the Bible’s most renowned heroes knew a lot about this kind of patience, and like you and me, he made a few fumbles in the waiting process. Genesis 12:2-3 (AMPC) recounts God’s promises to Abram:
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves].
God promised to show His favor to Abram and his family. However, Abram was going to have to be patient for that favor. In fact, Abram and his wife, Sarai would wait twenty-five years for the birth of their son, Isaac. God promised to bless theearth through Abram’s family (before he had kids). Months pass, and then years. What would you do if you were in Abram’s shoes? Perhaps you would wonder if God’s promises were a metaphor—a figure of speech. Maybe you’d forget your calling. Or, like Abram and Sarai, you might be tempted to take matters into your own hands.
“And Sarai said to Abram, ‘Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from having children…’” (Gen. 16:2 ESV). That’s red flag number one. Instead of being patient with God’s timing, Sarai gave up. She convinced herself that God removed the very favor He promised to give her. She continues, “Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.”
Abram listens to Sarai, and her servant Hagar has a son, Ishmael. However, God doesn’t establish His covenant with Ishmael. As God promised, the covenant would come through Abram’s descendants. If you don’t have patience, you will settle for less than God’s best.
As Hebrews 6:12 (NKJV) says, we inherit the promises of God “through faith and patience.” The preparation part is faith, and the waiting is patience. James 1:4 (NKJV) encourages, “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” This verse describes patience as a developmental process. We don’t come out of the womb knowing how to be patient. However, as the fruit of the Spirit ripens in you, patience will have its perfect work.
Patience is a heavy thing. It’s not easy, but it’s the very thing that will equip you to wait for God’s favor. Impatient people want to open doors so badly that they kick them down. Many times, they kick down the wrong door—I’m speaking from a painful amount of experience.
On the contrary, when you have faith that endures, God’s favor will open the right doors and close the wrong doors. That’s the difference between self-promotion and stewardship. When you have patience, you can effectively steward what the Lord has entrusted to you. Without it, you will try to promote yourself when God still has lessons for you in your current situation.
When you prefer your own timing, you won’t get the whole enchilada of what God has planned for you. Instead, you settle for part of the plate. Hebrews 10:36 (AMPC) says, “For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised.”
It takes patience to walk in the will of God. That’s because God’s will is bigger than you. It involves other people and organizations, so the timing must be orchestrated beyond you and your schedule. The next chapter dives into how God’s favor is released through other people and divine timing.
Activate: Be Consistent
What are some areas in your life where you struggle to be patient? You can identify them by taking stock of the times you’re the most tempted to escape into a different reality. When I was younger, waiting for God to move in my investments and business tested my patience. My tendency was to lead the charge and step out or into a venture before I got a thumbs-up from God. Here’s a nugget—the things that are the most difficult for you to be patient in are usually tied to your unique purpose in life. I had to learn how to lean on God in financial matters because I would later teach others how to do the same. God redeems our broken areas and gives us strength in those weaknesses for His glory.
When you want to escape, choose consistency instead. Consistency is a cardinal rule of investing. If you consistently invest in the real estate or stock market and don’t pull out when times are hard, over time your money will compound. This truth translates to every area of life.
If you struggle with faithfulness, God’s favor will help you strengthen that spiritual muscle. First John 4:19 (NKJV) says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” Well, the same rings true for every fruit of the Spirit—we are faithful because He was first faithful. Ask God to reveal His faithfulness to you and let that revelation energize and sustain all your pursuits.
