Does our heavenly Father favor certain individuals among his children? Doesn’t the Bible say God is no respecter of persons? When it comes to salvation and his wonderful promises, God treats us all alike, but he also puts his special favor on those who respond wholeheartedly to his calling and yield their lives to him entirely!
Job said, “You have granted me life and favor, and your care has preserved my spirit” (Job 10:12, NKJV). David said, “For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield” (Psalm 5:12).
Our heavenly Father puts a special garment on those who completely give him their hearts: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).
Joseph responded to the Spirit’s call, surrendering all, and as a favor from his father he received a robe that set him apart. However, that favor of his father cost Joseph relationships and brought him rejection, misunderstanding and mockery: “All his brothers…hated him” (Genesis 37:4).
Why did Joseph’s brothers turn on him? The key is in verse 11: “And his brothers envied him.” When they saw the robe Joseph wore, they knew it spoke of favor and righteousness. They hated it because it reminded them of the Spirit’s call they had rejected. Joseph was a reproach to their halfhearted lifestyle.
You see, Joseph’s brothers indulged in petty talk and self-centered living. Their hearts were occupied with lands, possessions, the future, but Joseph’s was elsewhere. He spoke of the things of God, of supernatural dealings. God had given him dreams, which in that day was synonymous with hearing the voice of God.
Lukewarm believers around you will want to talk about their cars, houses and jobs, but you’d rather talk about eternal things, about what God is saying to you. Soon you’ll become a reproach to their half-heartedness. They will envy you because you represent the call of the Holy Spirit they are tuning out. Yes, Joseph was of a different cloth, and that difference made him hated and envied among his brothers. Beloved, the same will happen to you if you are sold out to Jesus!