When my wife and I were in college, we had two classes together in which we thought that the other one was the teachers favorite. My wife thought I was the favorite student of our English Literature teacher. I was sure she was the favorite of our Theology of Mission teacher. It was a fun thing to think about, but the reality was that neither of us was really the favorite. It was a fun joke between the two of us.
There have been times that I have noticed in a workplace, in a family, in a school classroom that one person seems to be the favorite. Today I was reading in Psalm 41 and I read, “By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me” (Psalm 41:11). When it comes to my life in this strange world, it is a blessing to know that God is for me. It is a great confidence booster to think that while there are many who are against me, my Heavenly Father will always be there for me.
There are many enemies of the believer that we don’t often think about as enemies. I am not talking about the people who oppose us so much, as I am the enemies that I carry around within me. You see, when I was saved, my soul was saved, but my body still has a sin nature that wars against what the Holy Spirit wants to accomplish in my life. That battle is one that rages every day of my life. My fleshly desires and attitudes are enemies of the righteous work that the Holy Spirit wants to accomplish in my life.
I know that God is for me because when I yield to the control and power of His Holy Spirit that dwells within me, I see those enemies lose their control and power. I am thankful that God is in me and is for me today. As much as I would love to take credit for what I might accomplish in my life (there is one of those nasty enemies called “pride” in my life), I realize that if anything good comes from my life, it is a direct result of the work of my Heavenly Father within me. I know that He favors me, because He does the difficult work of fighting off my enemies every day.
The key to the victories over these enemies is my decision to yield to the influence of His Spirit within me. There is no question that the Spirit of God Who lives in me is greater than the enemy that is without me (the Devil). The reality is that I can hinder the work of the Holy Spirit when I do not yield to His control in my life. This is one of the reasons I read my Bible. I need to give fuel to the Holy Spirit’s ministry in my life. I need to have a Bible foundation on which He can build. I am so thankful today that I am highly favored of God … and so are you, if you are His child! Great news!