From the beginning of time, God’s plan has been clear. He didn’t simply create the world and then step back to see what would happen. His purpose was, and still is, to partner with people to push back darkness and bring His goodness into every corner of the earth.

Jesus revealed that plan plainly when He said:

It would be easy to dismiss this as a directive exclusively reserved for the Son of God, but God sent His Son so that His love would live in us and flow through us–our mandate is the same. His goal has always been to deliver people from oppression and from the control of the enemy, to bring them into His life and into His family as sons and daughters. The plan will never change.

Looking back, we get a clear glimpse of this plan in Moses. Moses defended a Hebrew who was being beaten, and God saw his heart for His people. Moses had compassion for Israel’s burdens and he came to their defence. This, of course, resulted in Moses having to flee Egypt, but that didn’t stop God from later revealing His plan to him which was to deliver Israel. And God revealed His plan with a promise to Moses, “I will be with you.”

Moses said yes and then began the partnership with God’s and His power to free Israel from Egypt. And we know the history. Because of his love for the people and his faith to obey God in what seemed impossible, Israel was ultimately delivered.

Scripture tells us that God spoke to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. God revealed His heart and His intention to lead Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey. He had a plan with a great promise.

Moses wanted everyone to experience this closeness and partnership with God. He even turned his tent into a place of meeting, a tabernacle where anyone seeking the Lord could come for direction. It was so powerful and safe, that even as a young man, scripture reveals that even Joshua didn’t want to leave that place. We see later that He gained great favor with the Lord

Moses understood this. He knew he had favor because God told him, and he felt confident asking God for direction as a result. We see this when he prayed:

Moses knew he already had favor, yet he asked for more. He wanted to know how to lead Israel well. He wanted God to walk with them in covenant. He wanted the peace of God, the promises of God, and more favor with God. And God agreed and gave him all three.

Solomon walked a similar path as Moses.

When the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, He said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you,” Solomon could have asked for military strength, wealth, or a great amount of power, or basically anything. Instead, he asked for wisdom to lead God’s people and to discern between good and evil. He admitted that the best chance of success was for him to be in a covenant partnership with God. His desire was to serve well, and he received what he asked for and even far more as a result.

God’s pattern has always been to bless people so they can be a blessing to others and overcome darkness in the world.

Solomon later wrote:

That’s pretty profound. Solomon is telling everyone to embody the life of being a blessing to others, and to carry it with you as a weight on your life and decisions. In business, if your motive is to truly help (to be a blessing to) your customers, your employees, and your community, you will find favor and success.

This access to God was not specially reserved for just Moses or Solomon. Just as Moses spoke with God face to face, and just as Solomon met with God in his dreams, we also can speak with Him to receive direction and strength. Jesus made this same access available to all who love and trust Him:

Once you understand how much God deeply desires to be involved in your life, to give you wisdom and power so you can help others, your faith grows in amazing ways. You become aware of His presence, promises, and power, and then become more willing to step out and follow His leading. That’s something only His great mercy enabled.

Have you ever heard the stories of George Washington Carver? He’s someone who understood something about this partnership with God. Deeply concerned about soil depletion from cotton crops in the South, George wanted to help farmers develop alternatives like peanuts and sweet potatoes. He wanted to understand everything he could, so he directly sought God for ideas. He could have have consulted others, and God would have likely given him a measure of success for his efforts and commitment. However, George wanted God as his partner, and as result, he developed over 300 uses for peanuts alone. It is said he would simply take a blank pad and pencil into a room, and then pray and seek fresh insight from God. That’s it. He believed God, he was expectant (full of faith) that God was willing to give him direction, and he wanted the best research partner available to mankind. God answered.

George Washington Carver had a life that manifested the reality of partnering with God. Jesus described this partnership clearly:

Moses, Solomon, Jesus, Mr. Carver, and countless others, have lived connected to the Father’s plan to help people. It’s not easy for everyone to see themselves to believe God’s promises for themselves, but that’s probably because it’s not natural. It’s supernatural, and it’s miraculous.

But the fact remain that the Creator has joined His life to ours. Make no mistake: Through faith we have access to His Spirit, to His promises, to His favor, and to His power.

This is all part of God’s purpose.

When His life flows in us, fruit shows up. We can expect wisdom for decisions, strength in trials, processes for integrity in business, generosity with our finances, and kindness in relationships. We can anticipate fruit that lasts. We need only to step out of our disbelief and walk in the favor He offers.

Paul talked about this mindset tied to this great purpose:

This is the partnership God has always desired. The intimacy (connection) God offers releases His power to move through us, His direction to guide us, and His blessing to touch others through us. When we’re connected to God, fruit (results) is not something we have to strain to produce. It is the basic evidence of connection with God. Favor is His tool given to us, to fulfill the assignment He has for us, to spread His goodness and to magnify His glory.

God’s favor comes with your assignment. It only manifests when you walk in it through faith. It only increases when you allow His blessing to flow through your life to others.

In my book The Multiplication Factor, I wrote about how God loves people and wants us to serve our employees and customers well. There are many ways to bless people. God created each of us with unique gifts for a purpose. Many of us are positioned in our professional work for this time in history, and as we open our hearts to Him, His goodness flows through us.

As I wrap up this article, I want to point to a more current example. In Courtney Dailey’s book, God Stories, you will find a compelling and inspiring testimony of this same truth. After disaster struck with Hurricane Helene, Courtney felt prompted to help rebuild just one single home. As she stepped out in faith, that one project became fifteen homes rebuilt in nine months. Again and again, as she and her husband prayed over each need, provision came. God added His strength to their obedience. They had favor, they walked in it, it was fruitful, and they did it all through a radical dependence on a partnership with a living, loving, and connected God.

It’s unconventional in God’s ways of walking with mankind for a person to take action only after everything is totally clear and fully lined out.

By taking action, Courtney stepped into God’s cycle of favor and received the provision for the path ahead. Despite not having all the answers along the way, she kept saying yes. One house led to another as they saw God’s continued hand on the work.

This has always been God’s plan, to partner with people. It’s not something everybody has access to, but it is something everyone can have access to through intimacy and connection with Him. Being favor driven means we know God’s plan, we believe His promises, we treasure the life and presence of Jesus with us, we anticipate God’s favor, and through all of this, we are privileged to experience His power working in and through our lives.