And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs (Daniel 1:9)

Favor is an interesting thing. We don’t deserve it. We don’t earn it. It is given to us. It opens doors. It gives us new opportunities. It paves the way for us. It removes obstacles. When someone does you a favor, it is inherently a good thing.

Many years ago I lived in the Dominican Republic for some time. Because it is hot there, shade is at a premium. We had two beautiful big trees out front that provided shade for our vehicles on the road. One day I came home to a problem. In the morning I had asked the soldiers across the street to park down the street and leave my shade tress for us to park there. As I came home in the afternoon, I was informed that I could not park in front of my own home because the soldiers informed me that this had been declared a “no parking zone.” Furious, I went into our house. I knew this was retaliation for my request to them in the morning.

As I prayed about it, I sensed the Lord telling me that I should challenge them. Much to the dismay of my wife who was afraid that I would be shot, I went back outside and asked about the “no parking zone.” They told me that the four-star general who lived in one of the condos across the street had declared it a “no parking zone.” I knew they were bluffing. I responded, “I’d like to talk to the general. Can you ask him to come down, please?” All of a sudden, there was a whole lot of commotion among the soldiers who were keeping guard. They were busy talking amongst themselves and finally one came back and said, “There is no problem. You can park there.”

Favor. The favor of God was on me that day. It could’ve ended very differently.

Favor protects. Favor paves the way.

It is important to know the favor of God. We don’t always know when it will be there. Sometimes we do the right thing and there is backlash. The favor of God is not a guarantee.

Daniel and his friend needed the favor of God in their situation. Not only was their appearance not affected negatively by eating only vegetables, they excelled in wisdom and understanding and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

By Ralph Veenstra