What Does it Mean to Be Favored by God?

I am participating in a Beth Moore bible study (Stepping Up - a journey through the Psalms of Ascent) this summer and in one of the lessons, Beth wrote, “Insecurity is a serious problem, but self-security can be an even bigger problem – even our self-security drawn from our position as a child of God.” She went on to share this scripture (emphasis mine):

Psalm 30:6-7:

“When I was secure (another version says “prosperous”), I said, ‘I will never be shaken.’ Lord, when You showed Your favor, You made me stand like a strong mountain; when you hid Your face, I was terrified.” (HCSB)

At first, I did not understand what she was trying to convey, so I kept reading. She explained herself like this: 

“…God’s favor and His person are not synonymous. If our trust is in manifestations of God’s favor rather in God Himself, we will crumble like dry clay when He calls us to walk a distance of our journeys entirely by faith and not by sight.”

In other words, in this instance, Beth interpreted that David was basing his security and trust on the manifest favor of God and when he had no manifest evidence of favor, He was terrified. I can relate!

My heart broke when I realized that in some measure, I too respond to God in this manner. Not only have I believed this distortion of truth, I have inadvertently taught it to others. I often say to my daughter Jeneva, “You are favored by God,” speaking those words based on the fact that God always seems to work on her behalf in a very clear and “manifest” way. I have repented for my error and have apologized to Jeneva for promoting God to her in that way.  I said to her, “I guess that would be like you only loving me when I did things for you or gave you material things – manifest evidence. As a parent, I don’t want my child’s love based on such things. I want my children (I have two girls) to love me simply because I am for them and not against them, even when I cannot provide or choose not to provide an answer or a fix for the hard things they will encounter in life.

So, here is my understanding of the favor of God:

The favor of God means that He is for me and not against me. That simple. Simple, but powerful when you think about it, which I invite you to do.

In Part 2, "Oh, From Where Do My Insecurities come? "I will share some possible reasons for my financial insecurity. I find that most of the time, if not all, my fears come from a very real place. Hopefully, as I have related to what Beth Moore shared, you will be able to relate to what I am going to share.

Preview of Part 2:

One of my greatest areas of struggle has to do with money/finances. I feel very insecure and afraid (or as David said, “terrified”) when it feels as if God has hidden His face or withheld His favor from me and has left me to make my own way – I believe that would be the self-security Beth Moore was talking about.

Romans 8:31

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (NIV)