Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard. Proverbs 13:15

Wise men and women want to live and bask in God’s favor. And yet, I believe that God shines His favor in different ways to different people. His favor is not always sunshine and roses, is it?

In the West we often equate favor with material blessing, and I suspect that is the farthest thing from God’s mind when he wants to show us his favor. You need only look to our Brothers and Sisters in the developing world to see what they understand favor to be. A new car? A new suit or dress? Hardly. Perhaps a new well was finished to provide clean water to their community. Or they just received a letter from a friend overseas.

Simple blessings. Part of the secret to that kind of thinking is appreciating even the smallest of things we take for granted.