Psalm 84:11 (NRSV) “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows (grants) favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.” It is God who wants to bestow favor and honor on us. It is God that wants to protect us and provide for us. God does not want to hold any good thing from us. Sometimes we need to change our mindset about God and see Him as a God who is with us and for us.
Psalm 30:5 (NKJV) “For His anger is, but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” I love this verse because it says, “His favor is for life.” It’s not just when I’m good; it’s when I’ve done wrong. It’s when I’m on top, and it’s when I’m on the bottom. It’s when I’m weeping and when I have joy. God’s favor helps turn our weeping into joy! God’s favor is when God takes the Ordinary and does the Extraordinary. This verse tells us God is always looking for the opportunity to do the extraordinary in our lives.
Acts 2:46-47 (TLB) “They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness, praising God. The whole city was favorable to them, and each day God added to them all who were being saved.” We should be worshiping together regularly at church, meeting in small groups, and sharing meals together. The results will bring great joy and thankfulness.
Exodus 12:36 (NKJV) “And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” The Egyptians had kept the Children of Israel in bondage for years, then they finally cried out to God. He not only showed them favor but blessed them with much of the Egyptians wealth.
This is Lot talking to God who had been living in Sodom and Gomorrah. These two cities had become so wicked God was going to destroy them. Yet, in spite of Lot not converting one person, including some of his children, God still showed him favor and mercy. Genesis 19:19-22 (NKJV) “Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV) “But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Our friend, God, is with us because of His Son. There’s nothing we can ever do to make Him leave us. Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV) “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” What about when we fail? Doesn’t Jesus leave us? No! You might say, “but I don’t deserve it!” That’s right, we don’t deserve it. That’s what makes it His unmerited favor in our lives.
Proverbs 18:22 (NKJV) “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.” The truth is if you have a Godly loving wife, it’s because of the favor of the LORD. If we are not careful in marriage, we get to thinking it’s what we do and don’t do that brings blessings or curses. It does matter what we do, but we can do everything right and still not have a good marriage without the favor of God. Psalm 127:1 (NKJV)
Associating with those who are blessed and highly favored will significantly increase our opportunity to have God’s favor. Two examples are Mary and Elizabeth & Abraham and Lot! In the case below, Laban was blessed because of Jacob. Genesis 30:25 (CEV) “After Joseph was born, Jacob said to Laban, ‘Release me from our agreement and let me return to my own country.’”
Luke 1:28-29 (NKJV) “And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” “But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was.” Mary was troubled at the saying, “she was highly favored.”