FAVOUR IS MORE POWERFUL THAN YOUR ABILITIES AND CAPABILITIES

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. 

Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

The need for skills and abilities, especially in this present world cannot be overemphasized. They are needed to make you productive and relevant, pedestalling you in high places in life. However, although these are very important, they cannot take the place of favour if you are going to be outstanding in life. Having abilities and capabilities and trusting only in them cannot bring about fulfillment. There is little you can achieve only with your abilities. Apparently, abilities and capabilities are meant to be the things needed for one to go far and high in life, the criteria needed to qualify one for a position or any good offer, but actually, this is not so. As a matter of fact, you can have all the necessary and needed skills and still not be regarded or considered by anybody. Whereas, you can be qualified without the required abilities and skills as long as you are favoured. 

What does it mean to be favoured?

To be favoured means to be regarded and paid attention to without any substantial reason. To be made qualified without any qualification. To be favoured also means to be preferred, however not on the basis of abilities and capabilities. And to say that someone is preferred means there are other people over whom they are preferred, therefore favour singles you out among others for recognition and promotion. 

You should not grow your abilities and capabilities and ignore the need for favour. As good as it is to have skills, it can be the reason you will not receive the favour of God. Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes says favour is not given to men of ability. 

“I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favour to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11. Emphasis added).

You do not even need to be a man or woman of ability to be qualified when you are favoured!

 How can one be favoured? 

Favour comes only from God. We, first of all, find favour before God and in turn find it before men. He who God has not favoured cannot be favoured by any man. In 1 Samuel 2:26, we read: 

“Now the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favour both with the Lord and with men.” 

And also in Luke 2:52, concerning Jesus, we read:

 “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.” 

You will see that they both grew and increased in favour first with the Lord and then with men. For you to be favoured by any man, you therefore need to have been favoured by the Lord. 

It is of utmost importance to know that it is the favour of God upon your life that will give a silent recommendation of you to people to prefer you to or/and above others, overlooking or without considering both your abilities and inabilities. The favour of God easily and quickly marks you out and separates you from every other person, causing you to be paid due attention and be regarded above all. Taking the case of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 1:28 as an example, we read

“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (KJV. Emphasis added).

Mary, obviously was not the only virgin woman in the land but among every other women of her time, she was blessed and preferred above them because she was favoured. Although others may have the same abilities and capabilities that you have or even more, you are seen as qualified because you are favoured and others are not regarded. From the text quoted above from Ecclesiastes, we know that recognition or promotion is actually not the result of being skillful or abounding with all wisdom and strength. The Bible says in Psalms 75:6-7

“For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation; but God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.”

Exaltation or promotion does not come from anywhere, not even from your skills. It is God who exalts. He exalts by putting His favour on you. With the coming of His favour on you is the coming of your exaltation from men. 

Just before the Lord would execute His judgment upon man by sending flood upon the face of the earth, He caused Noah to find His favour. Noah, because of the favour of the Lord, was singled out, with his family from those who were destined for destruction. It is true that Noah was a righteous man and others were not, but he could not have been righteous if he had not found favour in the eyes of the Lord. It was made known to us that he found favour before we knew about his righteousness. Genesis 6:8-9 says 

“But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (Emphasis added). 

Could it also be that when the Lord favours us, He also gives us the necessary and needed abilities and capabilities? Since this is the case, is it not better to go after His favour which will make us to be preferred above all, coupled with the fact that we will be loaded with abilities? When God wants to bless you among every other person on earth, He places His favour on you. So it was with Noah. He was marked out and separated only because he found favour with God. Only the favour of God can single us out among others. Your skills are insufficient to make you recognizable. You need to totally depend on the favour of God and with all your heart,  seek it.