Proverbs 3:3-4

New International Version (NIV)

 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.

For Meditation

The chief executive returned subdued from a housing agency that had failed to refund the security payment they made for renting their apartment. Ready for a fiery confrontation, Charles went there because the agency had not been fair to them during their three-year tenure and some other issues. To his shame, the manager politely explained the holdup. The housing agency had requested evidence of his organization’s certificate of full payment from the electricity and water companies, but they had failed to comply.

Sometimes we vigorously go after people and issues when, all the time the blame lies in our actions, inactions, or attitudes. We push and complain about people and the process, while our negligence in some matters may be the problem. Likewise, we chase after spiritual breakthroughs with much praying and fasting. Meanwhile, we have neglected our spiritual responsibilities. 

James says something about this matter.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:3).

There are causes for our disappointments and conditions for success. God told Joshua to be diligent in the word and obedient as a condition for success and prosperity (Joshua 1:7-8). We need God’s favor every day. But do we stop to meditate on scriptures that show us some things that could lead us into His favor? 

In Proverbs 3, Solomon talks about two things: Love and faithfulness. He challenges us to let these virtues dress our inner self to reveal the beautiful inner character God approves of and humans admire in relationships. It is the best way to find favor with God and people (3-4). Who does not favor a kind and loyal person, and why would God not do the same to such a person? 

Do you remember these words of Joseph to the wife of Potiphar?  

“How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). 

This sterling statement says it all, and we know how Joseph gained with God and the Egyptians. No wonder Joseph is a type of Jesus who is our ultimate example of growing in favor of God and people (Luke 2:52).

As it was with Joseph, a type of Jesus, and with the Lord Himself, so will it be for us if we also adorn ourselves with love and faithfulness (Prov. 3:3). We “will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” 

The key is in your hand.

Shalom