For you bless the righteous O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield. (Psalm 5:12)
There are certain scriptures that can have a wonderful, tone-setting effect for an entire day, and I think this is one of them. What would it be like if we walked through our days with this scripture in mind?
_The alarm goes off at 6 AM, ripping me out of slumber. For the past seven hours I’ve been sleeping, and as I was sleeping God’s favor was covering me. He was working for my good even as I was sleeping.
_I sit down to read my Bible, feel nothing, empty of desires. Spiritually cold. But I am righteous in Christ, and because of this God’s smile and favor are upon me, even though I feel absolutely nothing.
_Commuting to work, stuck in traffic. I’ve got a brutal day in front of me. Long hours, meetings with difficult people. Tough as these things are, they only get to me after they pass through the shield of God’s favor. As I sit in standstill traffic, God’s brilliant favor is pressing down on me, shielding me.
_Rumors of cutbacks are circulating through the office. The economy is tanking and someone is going to pay the price. Is it going to be me? If I lose my job, who will take care of my wife, my kids, my mortgage? Even the economy can’t puncture the shield of God’s favor that surrounds me. I might lose my job. The King of the universe will take care of me.
_I come home from work only to find out that my wife has come down with the flu. Yet this isn’t any old flu. This is a flu that God has brought through the shield of his favor.
_I collapse into bed, exhausted from a long day. But God’s not exhausted, and as I sleep his favor is still shielding me. Glorious.
Written by Stephen Altrogge
Topics: God's Love