Grace and Favor: God’s Promises to You
Faith is a living and audacious confidence in the grace of God, so sure and certain that a man could wager his life a thousand times. ~ Martin Luther
Have you ever done someone a favor? Any gift or task with no strings attached? How did you feel knowing that you had the power and ability to be a blessing?
Now here’s a thought. How do you think God feels when you receive grace and favor from him? Do you think that He only does things for you if you do something for Him? Can he ever earn or repay grace from him?
The answer, of course, is no. He doesn’t expect it either. Even sincere gratitude from him is insufficient. You couldn’t repay him if you tried all your life! That’s why it’s called a ‘favor’.
The definition of ‘grace’ is unmerited divine assistance. It includes approval, favor, mercy, forgiveness, and privilege. Grace is love exemplified. It was the impetus for God to send Jesus to earth. He gave his Son because he loved you. The Gospel (meaning ‘good news’) IS The Blessing, the everlasting promise of God’s grace and favor.
God has granted you a privileged status. You are his adopted son. He appointed you Ambassador of the Kingdom of him. Additionally, you have been given the power of attorney from Jesus to use His Name, the Name above all names. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords; and you are one of the kings and lords of which He is the head. You are royalty!
Royalty has power, right and status. You are ‘sitting in heavenly places’. God told you to ‘have dominion’. All of God’s power is available to you through his Word, his grace, and his favor. To help you understand the breadth, depth, length, and height of God’s infinite Love and favor, here is a partial list of the benefits you receive through His gift of grace.
wounded grace. The Bible says that the Lord blesses you continually. That blessing is grace, the divine favor of God. The Blessing was pronounced on mankind in Genesis when God empowered man to ‘be fruitful, multiply and dominate’. Now, that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to accomplish those things. There is no difference between “Be light” and “Be fruitful.” God spoke The Blessing into existence. Fruitful IS-and he is as sure as light to any of his children that he will avail The Blessing by faith.
Jesus delivered the same message everywhere he preached. He said that he came to give you ‘life to the full’ (John 10:10). Luke detailed Jesus’ announcement that he was anointed (or ‘sent’) to teach people about the gospel of deliverance, healing, recovery, and freedom (Luke 4:18), in other words, the grace of God.
grace gives. Psalm 68 says that the Lord showers you with benefits every day! Psalm 103 lists some of those benefits: forgiveness, healing, mercy, renewed youth, and protection. They are all gifts of God’s grace. You have already been given ‘all spiritual blessings’ and ‘all sufficiency in all things’! Psalm 37 says that He wants to grant you the desires of your heart. Every promise in the Bible comes from the heart of God, from his desire to see his children prosper and be in health—spirit, soul, and body (3 John 1:2).
Grace forgives. God not only forgives all sin (because Jesus paid the price for everything you have done or will do), but He also cleansed you from all unrighteousness. Why? So that He can enjoy his human family. God loves us and, as a Divine Father, he wants to spend time with his family as much as we want to spend time with ours. Remember that the next time you think you’ve done something wrong. He forgave you over 2000 years ago! Even the horrendous pain of crucifixion did not stop Jesus from speaking forgiveness to his enemies and favor to the criminals who were by his side.
Grace is merciful. Mercy is defined as indulgent and compassionate treatment, an act of divine favor. The Bible describes God’s mercy as ‘abundant’, ‘new every morning’ and ‘from eternity to eternity’. Psalm 103 says that He turns away your transgressions ‘as far as the east is from the west’ and that He remembers it no more. Mercy bears no grudge and refrains from punishing or censuring. God treats you like it never happened. It is the eternal grace of God.
Grace gives favour. Repeatedly, the Bible says that God ‘gave favor’ or ‘showed favor’ to His people. Ephesians says that He ‘raised us up to sit in the heavenly places’. Having a place in God’s throne room is quite prestigious, don’t you think? He adopted us into his family and told us to call him ‘Abba, Father.’
You may remember photos of young John Kennedy Jr. playing under the desk in the Oval Office while his father, then President of the United States, worked. To John-John, this important man was simply ‘Dad’. Well, God is your ‘daddy’ and he wants to show you favor from him. He told you to ‘come boldly’ and ask him for what you need (Hebrews 4:16) so that you ‘obtain mercy and find grace to help.’ God wants to show you his favor! That is grace, love in action.
Grace strengthens. God said: My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9) Whatever you need to do, God’s grace is available to help you. I remember the years when my mother was in a nursing home. It became more and more emotionally difficult to visit each day. As she drove there each morning, she kept repeating, “Your grace is enough, your grace is enough.” She reinforced my resolve to do what was necessary. And she has done it in countless situations throughout my life. Turning to God in times of weakness or need; we receive grace from him, strength and favor from him.
Grace empowers. Not only are you adopted into God’s family, He declared you to be a king and a priest. His divine power has given you ‘all things that pertain to life and godliness’ (2 Peter 1:3). His Word (in your mouth) is swift and powerful (Heb. 4:12).
Timothy explained that God gave you power, love, and self-control (1:7). Furthermore, he gave you his weapons (see Ephesians 6) to defeat all your enemies. The Bible declares you victorious, more than conqueror! How’s that for power?
Grace prospers. Did you know that God ‘delights’ in your prosperity? That He gives you ‘power to obtain riches’? The most famous Psalm in the Bible affirms that your ‘cup overflows’ and that good and mercy follow you every day! Being abundantly supplied with no financial worries would be ‘nice’, don’t you think? 2 Corinthians 9:8 says that God causes ‘all grace to abound to you’ so that ‘you may abound to every good work’. You can’t give what you don’t have. God’s grace provides the means for ‘a faithful man to abound in blessings’ (Ps. 28:20). Psalm 112 says that you will be blessed with ‘goods and riches’ in your home. Prosperity is as much a part of God’s grace as favor, forgiveness, or mercy.
Grace protects. Psalm 91 details the many protections available to those who make God their source. He says ‘certainly’ He will deliver you, he will be your refuge and strength, and nothing can harm you in any way. Also, he promises long life and salvation from any evil.
Everything that God has ever done is the result of his great love and grace. Everything you will ever need or want is abundantly available because of that grace and favor. As you spend time meditating on God’s grace and favor, you will learn to depend on Him in all situations. That’s all He wants: for you to trust Him enough to take care of Him… so He can show up strong on your behalf. His Word explains that He wants to spend the ages showing you the super-great riches of His grace and goodness. He longs to hurt you abundantly!
Use your faith and the power of your words to access His grace and favor. Refuse to talk about the problem when God’s grace has already given you all the answers in His Word. Refuse to let the system of this world dictate your life. Take your place, the place He created for you. Put yourself in your power. Choose what happens by your faith and the words you speak. Why would you choose to accept the ways of the world, when God’s grace is so much better?
Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3)