God’s favor. I have often prayed for it and I bet many of you have heard it prayed for as well. If you’ve read even a little of the Bible, you have probably crossed a passage or two where it talked about someone having God’s favor or otherwise seeking it.
All that sort of begs a question: what is God’s favor? Not only that, but why would I want it and how do I get it?
Great questions, indeed. Not completely easy to answer, but I thought highly enough of it to make “seek God’s wisdom and favor” one of the twelve nuggets of Listen Up, Kids wisdom when I wrote Listen Up, Kids. We’ve already touched on the “wisdom” portion of the advice, so now let’s wax a bit on the “favor” part.
What is God’s Favor?
In the simplest terms, God’s favor is the display or presence of something that shows you have God’s approval. When you are in favor with someone, you have their support. They are on your side. They are someone who approves of you. When you are not in favor with someone, they are seemingly against you. They disapprove of you. In either case, you usually know it to be so — either through their interactions with you or by some other sign.
In the case of God, we all have his favor. You see, favor is equal to grace, which we have through Christ’s redeeming work on the Cross. God’s favor is, therefore, a gift. God’s favor is his blessing to us through Christ.
For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD,
– Proverbs 8:35 (ESV)
God’s favor is God’s gift of grace and should not be taken for granted.
Why Does God’s Favor Matter?
Through the gaining of God’s favor, we receive forgiveness of sins and access to God. He has restored us – a broken people – to him so we may connect to him, know him, enjoy each other and glorify him forever.
It does not simply conclude there, though. His work in you is not complete. It, in some regards, has just begun to germinate. A seed is planted in your heart. As it sprouts, matures and grows in your heart, it should then be overtaken by a desire to be continually growing, continually pleasing God and continually gaining in God’s favor.
This is what it means to be in pursuit of God.
This is what it means to crave a deep and meaningful connection to him. His favor grants you access and provides the transformative power to be a new creation in Christ. It is, in fact, a transformation towards Christ-likeness.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
– 2 Peter 3-4 (ESV)
Closing thoughts on God’s Favor?
We believers indeed already have God’s favor – we are in his good graces – thanks to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That gift should never be taken for granted. It is not a permission to continue sinful ways.
As Christians, we have God's favor. Never take it for granted or as permission to sin. #YLU Share on XAs we age, we mature we should continually seek to grow in our wisdom to know and understand what is and is not pleasing to God. In addition, we should strive to live our lives in that worthy manner. This is true even when the world around us seems completely, absolutely, and totally counter to what we know and understand to be right in God’s eyes.
We must seek God’s favor over the favor of anyone else. Seek him. Draw your heart near to him. Arrange your life around him and his desires for your life.
In the process, you may find yourself asking a question more appropriate than what can I do to be in God’s favor? That question; what have I done with God’s favor that I already have and what more can I do with it?