Wisdom Takes Time: A Study of ProverbsSample

Wisdom Is Favored Who doesn’t want or need a favor at times? Have you ever said to anyone, “Can you do me a favor?” I’m sure that you have, and I have, too. It might be something like, “Can you do me a favor and help me move on Saturday?” or, “Can you do me a favor and give me a ride to work tomorrow because my car is in the shop?” We all need favors now and then, and when someone does us a favor, we appreciate it. As nice as it may be to have favor with a person, having favor with God is so much better. Proverbs 12:2 teaches us that a good person obtains the favor of God. In Psalm 5:12 we read, “Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” These scriptures and others offer us the joyful message that we can live in God’s favor. When we live under the blessing of God’s favor, we find people doing special things for us for seemingly no reason at all—except that God has given us favor. His favor opens doors for us, giving us opportunities we would not otherwise have. God’s favor also promotes us. Everything we receive from God is received through faith, so I want to encourage you to release your faith to begin living in the favor of God. Just imagine: what would it be like to be surrounded by God’s favor? How much more enjoyable and exciting would your life be? Look up all the scriptures on God’s favor and start confessing (speaking aloud) that you have His favor everywhere you go, then watch Him work on your behalf. Confessing God’s Word is one dynamic way to release your faith, and praying is another, so pray and ask God to give you His favor. We forfeit many of God’s blessings simply because we fail to ask for them (see James 4:2), so why not ask? Another way to attract God’s favor is to show favor to others. A righteous person shows kindness, even to animals (see Proverbs 12:10). God is kind and good to all, and we should emulate His behavior. Those who are kind benefit themselves (see Proverbs 11:17, 25). If we sow kindness, we will reap kindness. We should always be willing to go out of our way to do favors for people, remembering that those favors will come back to us. Anytime we give, we bless ourselves in addition to blessing the recipient of our gift. We never lose through giving; we always gain. Prayer Starter: Father, thank You so much for Your favor! Help me live my life in a way that allows Your favor and grace to be made known in beautiful ways. In Jesus’ name, amen. ###### Adapted from the book In Search of Wisdom by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2021 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved. Thank you for joining us for this reading plan. Want to dive deeper? Check out Joyce's study, 31 Days in Proverbs! [ joycemeyer.org/Proverbs ](https://joycemeyer.org/Proverbs)