Grace and Favor 

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Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  -  Genesis 6:5-8

 

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”  -  Luke 1:26-28

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  -  Ephesians 2:4-9

 

In British English the phrase “grace and favour” refers to a property provided by the government rent free in recognition of one’s service to the country. Grace and favor are synonyms in English and carry a similar core idea: free. We could say that grace and favour properties are earned by their recipients, but they are free in the sense that their provision is not an obligation.

 

English translations of Scripture use grace and favor to translate the same Hebrew and Greek terms. Both words carry the same idea of free. For instance, Noah found grace [favor] in the eyes of God in a wicked period of history. Yes, Noah was a righteous and blameless man who walked with God (Genesis 6:9). But he did not earn the favor God bestowed upon him. Rather, God looked with favor upon Noah as a man He could trust. The same was said of Mary the earthly mother of Jesus who was a “highly favored one” (Luke 1:28) — someone God could trust with a weighty commission.

 

We are saved freely by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Let us also live as those God can call when He needs a faithful servant.

 

 

 

 

The devotional message, “Grace and Favor”, was written by Dr. David Jeremiah, was provided by Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah and was taken from the website, davidjeremiah.org, November 11, 2025.  Used with their permission.  For more daily inspiration, visit DavidJeremiah.org
 

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