Nougat 8

Recently, I overheard a conversion between two friends. They were speaking about a somewhat untenable situation that had arisen in their context. After listening to their plight, the second had spoken with someone with clout, who had the power to resolve the issue. And just like that, the problem was sorted.

Has that ever happened to you, that an unexpected resolution was found for a problem? Isn’t it good when that happens? When this happens by way of someone else acting on our behalf, it’s sometimes referred to as favour. Or favour with authority. I believe that all favour we experience could qualify as favour with authority, since God is the one who brokers it. What do you say? Consider Today’s Holy Nougat, for example.

Daniel 1:8-9 ASV

[8] But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s dainties, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

[9] Now God made Daniel to find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.

Favour with Authority

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were captives. That’s not a space that would normally garner favour. Prisoners of war don’t always have fun stories about their experiences. Some don’t make it from captivity, subsequent to the abuse they experience. That Daniel even dared to make such a resolution seemed doomed to failure. To have taken the thought and moved it to action, some might have seen it as a suicide mission. And it was …

But God

You see, not only had Daniel decided to avoid the foods and wine offered, but he saw it as an act of devotion to God. Even though he and his friends were among the captured royals, they opted against complaint and chose praise. Their praise was rewarded by God’s favour being placed upon them in extremely influential spaces.

They found favour with the ‘prince of the eunuchs’, i.e., the head eunuch. It didn’t require them to go up the chain of command to place their request to the head guard. They were already placed in his sphere. There was no need for bribes (what did they have to offer as captives?), as God had already granted them favour.

It wasn’t their doing. That was all God. Similarly, we find that Hadassa, also known as ‘Esther’, found favour with the chief eunuch. He ensured that for 1 year she received the best beauty regimen and products, provided her with 7 girls to assist her, and situated then in the best room of the palace so that she would gain an an advantage in the King’s beauty pageant in Persia (see Esther 2). Yep, that’s how God rolls!

For God was ensuring that Esther secured marriage to the king, as she would be strategically placed to save the Jews later. Likewise, God had plans for the lives of those Hebrew youth, and for them to be set apart, they needed favour.

We might not be migrants nor captives, but God has a plan for our lives. And that plan may require us to have divine favour in high places. It may be that this week, or some future time, requires that we appeal to someone who shouldn’t be approachable. Rather than give up prematurely, let’s allow ourselves to go forth in faith, equipped with God’s favour. Who knows, we may find ourselves gaining access because God has plans for us in such a time as this.

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May all we seek be found in Christ