Not every person in your life who is thriving is thriving because of their own anointing. Some are walking in overflow because they are positioned near someone who carries the unusual, weighty favor of God. This is called proximity to favor. There is a profound truth buried inside the early chapters of Genesis that many believers overlook about the favor of God. Lot became wealthy while traveling with Abram. This is an example of proximity to favor that is truly remarkable. What this means is that not everyone carrying the favor of God is the actual source of it—some are blessed because they are connected to the one carrying the unusual favor from God.
We are living in unprecedented times, and although darkness covers the earth, the Holy Spirit is still moving through us, and hovering over us. He is about to do amazing things in our midst, but we have to be ready. It's imperative that we not only raise our level of expectation, but also our level of spiritual awareness and sensitivity to recognize what Jesus is doing in this time and season. As I said before, it is not enough to be a mediocre Christian if we want to experience the deep things of God. We need to be filled with The Holy Spirit before we could position our hearts to hear from Him. With this infilling, we come into a holy union with our creator. We are then able to hear His voice and know His ways. Then we'll recognize the different moods and moves of The Holy Spirit.
Decades ago, I was participating in an all-night prayer meeting, "bombarding the gates of heaven." I remember beating the wall and yelling, "God, if You loved the people in Arlington, Texas, half as much as I do, we'd have revival!" Immediately, my lightning-fast mind realized that something was seriously wrong with my theology. What was I thinking? Did I really believe I loved these people more than God did? No, not exactly. Like many Christians, I believed God was angry with the human condition, and it was up to me to turn Him from wrath and judgment. I was interceding, or so I thought, pleading with God on the behalf of others. What could possibly be wrong with that?
Not long ago, I got a personal prophecy from a prophet. You may be thinking, wait a minute, I thought you were a prophet. Why are you getting a prophetic word from another prophet? Well, the truth is I still look for confirmation and insight into what I may not be seeing or things God already told me. In any case, I got a prophecy from a prophet, and he told me something God is about to do. It was confirmation on something I knew God needed to do and something I have been praying for. So, I accepted the prophetic word with joy.
Smith Wigglesworth was a great preacher. But before he was a preacher, he was a plumber who wasn't a Christian—nor a very nice man. Fortunately for him, he had a godly wife. He didn't want her to go to church, but she went anyway. When she did, he'd lock her out of the house, and when she came home, she'd have to sleep on the back porch. In the morning he'd unlock the door and she'd come in and say, "Good morning, Smithy!" and make him breakfast. She was a godly example for him. She prayed for him and God gave her the grace to be good to him in spite of his rude behavior.
My friend, if I could sit across from you today—perhaps over a warm cup of tea and a quiet moment away from the noise of life—I would gently take your hand in mine and share with you a truth that has been forged in the deepest places of my own journey. Don't waste your pain. Now, I understand that those words may feel difficult to receive. Pain is not something we would ever choose for ourselves. It is not something we pray for or anticipate with eager expectation. More often than not, pain arrives uninvited, disrupting the life we thought we would live and rewriting the story we thought had already been planned.
In a world obsessed with platforms, titles, and perceived influence, we must remember: God is not impressed with our position; He is drawn to our posture. It is not where we sit, stand, or speak that determines our effectiveness—but how we bow in humility, how we listen to His Spirit, and how we live when no one is watching. Our private posture affects our public influence. Our private choices have public consequences.
"A healed mind does not race. It responds." There is a particular quality of thinking that most people have experienced at least once, usually by accident. It arrives in the middle of a walk, or just after waking, or in the stillness following a conversation that went deeper than expected. It is not loud. It does not announce itself. It simply appears, and when it does, it has a quality that is unmistakable. it is clear, specific, unhurried, and exactly on point for the moment. This is not an altered state. It is not a spiritual achievement reserved for monks and mystics. It is what the mind naturally is when it has been freed from the weight of what it was never designed to carry.
If you've ever had a difficult boss, coach, parent, or other superior figure, you likely know what it means to desire their favor. In some cases, it seems futile to even try, especially if they tend to find fault with anything and everything you do. In the best cases they can be pleased, if you work hard. Regardless, it's challenging to live under such circumstances because you rarely feel they are pleased and therefore, you seldom feel satisfied. It's comforting, then, to read Psalm 90 and realize that the Superior of superiors, the everlasting God, is able and willing to shine His favor upon His people.
It's a question I frequently hear. It's one I've asked. And maybe it's one you've asked, too. It's, "God, why did You give this to me?" This can be any number of issues from emotional or psychological struggles, to symptoms or sicknesses, disabilities or disasters. When we struggle for so long, the tendency is to eventually blame God, which is exactly what the enemy wants. The devil's goal with a question like this is to take himself out of the limelight in order to make God seem to be the author of all evil. He does this to erode your confidence in God's goodness, and ultimately, your relationship and intimacy with Him.
