God Is For Me, Part 3- Favor: the Believers' Advantage | Pastor Mark Thomas

Devotional

Day 1: Lifetime Favor Beyond Night’s Weeping

The favor of God outlasts every dark season. Like dawn breaking after a long night, His kindness remains steadfast even when circumstances shift. Psalm 30:5 contrasts fleeting sorrow with favor that spans a lifetime—not as a temporary relief but as an unshakable inheritance. This favor isn’t conditional on our performance but rooted in Christ’s righteousness. It wraps around grief, sustains through uncertainty, and declares joy’s inevitability. Trusting this truth reshapes how we walk through both celebration and struggle. [54:57]

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
(Psalm 30:5, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been tempted to see your current hardship as the end of your story? How might embracing God’s lifetime favor shift your perspective today?

Day 2: Favor in the Pit and the Palace

Joseph’s story reveals favor that thrives in paradox—betrayal, slavery, and prison became steppingstones to purpose. God’s presence didn’t spare him adversity but repositioned him through it. Favor isn’t the absence of struggle but the assurance of God’s oversight in every season. Like Joseph, believers are guarded by divine attention even in unseen battles. The same favor that preserved him in the pit propelled him to the palace. [01:06:41]

“The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man… the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.”
(Genesis 39:2–3, ESV)

Reflection: What “pit” have you resented that God might be using to position you for His purpose? How can you lean into His favor there?

Day 3: Multiplying Favor Through Intimacy

Favor increases as we press into knowing God, not just about Him. Second Peter 1:2 ties multiplied grace and peace to relational depth—the kind that transforms casual belief into fiery devotion. Like Jesus, who grew in favor through connection with the Father, our nearness to God unlocks greater dimensions of His kindness. This isn’t a transaction but a lifelong journey of trust and surrender. [01:04:53]

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
(2 Peter 1:2, ESV)

Reflection: Is your pursuit of God driven more by desire for blessings or delight in His presence? What step can you take today to know Him more deeply?

Day 4: Doors Opened by Unshakable Favor

God’s favor grants access to opportunities no human effort can manufacture. Revelation 3:8 highlights doors He opens—ones aligned with His purpose and immune to opposition. These aren’t mere chances but divine appointments, like Joseph’s interpretation of dreams or the Israelites’ exodus with plundered wealth. Favor turns impossible situations into testimonies of His faithfulness. [01:11:41]

“I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.”
(Revelation 3:8, ESV)

Reflection: What “closed door” have you been striving to force open? How might trusting God’s favor shift your approach from striving to receiving?

Day 5: Receiving Abundance to Reign

Romans 5:17 declares that receiving—not earning—unlocks reigning in life. Abundant favor is a gift, accessed through faith in Christ’s finished work. Like the Israelites leaving Egypt laden with treasure, believers walk in provision when they embrace their identity as favored heirs. This isn’t passive but a bold agreement with Heaven’s perspective over every lack or limitation. [59:13]

“Those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”
(Romans 5:17, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you hesitated to fully receive God’s favor as a gift? What would it look like to reign in that area through Christ’s abundance today?

Sermon Summary

God surrounds the righteous with favor as with a shield. His goodwill, kindness, and advantageous treatment belong to the believer’s inheritance in Christ Jesus. Romans 5 grounds that confidence in justification: through Jesus, believers have peace with God and access by faith into the favor in which they firmly and safely stand. Favor is not merely something to believe in. Believers are called to become favor minded.

Job’s testimony joins life and favor together. Life is a gift to cherish and enjoy, and God’s kindness accompanies it. God sees those in Christ with compassion, mercy, love, and potential, not disgust. His visitation means his oversight and loving care. Because he cares, believers can cast their cares upon him rather than live full of anxiety. Psalm 121 presents God himself as the keeper of their souls, their going out, and their coming in.

God’s favor lasts a lifetime, but its presence does not mean the absence of adversity. Joseph experienced betrayal, David faced Goliath, and Esther faced a crisis. Trouble does not prove that favor has disappeared. The night is not the end of the story, and praise need not wait until the walls fall or the report changes.

Abundant favor must be received by faith, together with the gift of righteousness. Believers reign in life through Jesus Christ, not through their own strength, education, influence, or resources. His fullness supplies favor upon favor, and that favor increases through continual fellowship and growing knowledge of him.

Joseph’s journey from the pit to the palace shows that favor can take a person where personal ability cannot. God opens doors no man can shut and wins battles human strength cannot win. Faithful service, rather than idle confession, puts believers in position for promotion. Rejoicing over another person’s blessing resists resentment and comparison. Israel’s departure from Egypt brings the argument home: God’s favor brought his people out, and they did not leave empty handed.

Key Takeaways

1. Favor Rests On Standing In Christ. Romans 5 connects access to favor with justification and peace with God through Jesus Christ. Believers stand safely in that favor because of Christ, not because their own resources make them secure. Becoming favor minded means allowing that standing to shape their expectations of God’s kindness. [47:27]
2. God’s Care Answers The Burden Of Anxiety. God’s visitation is his attention, oversight, and loving care, not a passing moment of interest. His care gives believers a reason to bring their requests with prayer and thanksgiving rather than carry every concern themselves. A carefree life, in this sense, rests on the confidence that God is watching over them. [50:49]
3. Adversity Does Not Cancel Lasting Favor. Joseph’s betrayal, David’s battle, and Esther’s crisis show that favor and trouble can occupy the same season. Difficulty is therefore not reliable evidence that God has withdrawn his kindness. Praise while the walls still stand expresses confidence that the night is not the end of the story. [56:01]
4. Growing Fellowship Makes Room For Increase. Favor and peace are multiplied through knowing God and Jesus Christ more deeply. That knowledge involves continual fellowship, not merely knowing facts about God or having an occasional experience with him. The call to grow in grace keeps the believer’s attention on an ongoing relationship rather than a single past encounter. [1:04:41]
5. Faithful Service Leaves No Room For Envy. The accounts of women receiving homes after years of caring for others connect favor with willing, practical service. Their example challenges idle confession that never puts a hand to the plow. Another person’s blessing becomes an occasion for genuine rejoicing rather than resentment over what has not yet happened elsewhere. [1:15:09]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[45:39] - Surrounded With Favor
[46:51] - Standing In Favor Through Christ
[48:04] - The Gift Of Life And Favor
[51:58] - Guarded By God Himself
[54:33] - Lifetime Favor Through Difficult Seasons
[58:37] - Receiving Abundant Favor To Reign
[1:02:40] - Increasing In Favor Through Knowing God
[1:06:00] - Joseph From The Pit To The Palace
[1:11:00] - Open Doors And Battles God Wins
[1:14:19] - Faithful Service And Unexpected Provision
[1:16:21] - Rejoicing In Another Person’s Blessing
[1:18:15] - Leaving Egypt Without Empty Hands

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 5:1-2
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” [46:51]

Psalm 5:12
“For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.” [46:09]

Psalm 30:5
“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” [54:33]

Observation questions

In Romans 5:1–2, how are being declared righteous, having peace with God, and having access to God’s favor connected to Jesus and faith? [47:36]
What does the picture of a shield in Psalm 5:12 communicate about God’s favor? What descriptions of favor help explain that picture? [46:30]
Psalm 30:5 places sorrow alongside lasting favor. What difficulties did Joseph, David, and Esther face even though God’s favor was upon them? [56:04]

Interpretation questions

If believers’ standing with God rests on Christ, how does that challenge the idea that someone must achieve enough or have enough resources to be secure in God’s favor? [47:36]
How does Psalm 30:5 challenge the conclusion that a difficult season means God has withdrawn his kindness? What might someone overlook by judging God’s favor only by present circumstances? [55:48]
What is the difference between praising God during an unresolved difficulty and pretending that the difficulty does not hurt? How does Psalm 30:5 leave room for both sorrow and hope? [57:39]

Application questions

Because of Jesus, your standing with God does not depend on your achievements. In what situation do you find yourself trying to earn his acceptance? What could change if you approached that situation confident in his kindness? [47:36]
God’s care gives you a reason to bring your concerns to him. What worry keeps returning to your mind, and what would it look like to bring that specific concern to God with prayer and thanksgiving this week? [51:10]
Trouble does not mean God’s favor has disappeared. If you are comfortable sharing, what unresolved difficulty makes that truth hard to hold onto? What could honest praise look like for you while you wait? [56:20]
Growing in the knowledge of God involves ongoing fellowship, not just knowing facts about him. What helps you spend meaningful time with him, and what small change could make room for that this week? [01:04:53]
Trusting God’s favor goes hand in hand with faithful service. Where do you already have an opportunity to serve someone practically, even if no recognition or reward is in sight? What might a willing next step look like? [01:15:07]
Another person’s blessing can bring joy, but it can also expose comparison. When have you felt that tension recently? How could you genuinely celebrate that person while bringing your own unmet hopes to God? [01:17:05]

Sermon Clips

36s

#FaithThroughTrials

“How many of you know that Joseph had favor, yet he experienced betrayal? David had favor, yet he faced Goliath. Esther had favor, but she still faced a crisis. presence of trouble does not mean the absence of God's favor. And this morning, you may be experiencing a difficult season, but you are still living under the favor of God.”

37s

#FavorForEverySeason

“Favor is not just for a season. It is for every season of your life. Favor in your younger years. Favor in your middle years. Favor in your latter years. Favor during times of increase. And favor even during times of difficulty. It is not just believing God for a moment of favor, it is trusting him for a whole lifetime of favor.”

32s

#CastYourCares

“the word visitation there speaks of his oversight. It speaks of his attention. It speaks of his care for us. That's why he doesn't want you living life full of care. He wants us to live carefree. is that? Because he cares for us. And because he cares for us, he told us to cast all of our cares upon him.”

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God Is For Me, Part 3- Favor: the Believers' Advantage | Pastor Mark Thomas | 11-1-26