What Does the Bible Say About Losing God’s Favor?

Jeremiah 2:11-13

What does the Bible say about losing God’s favor?

Everything good we get from God is all by grace. This means that God truly loves us and blesses us even though we don’t deserve this. However, the Bible is also clear that God gives extra favor to those who obey him (Psalm 5:12). This does not mean we earn blessings from God; it means that God will bless people with good things when they are prepared to handle those gifts in obedience.

So here are 4 ways you could be forfeiting God’s favor in your life.

1. You Could Be Forfeiting God’s Favor if You Are Seeking the Wrong Blessings from God

God loves to give good gifts to his children. One problem, however, that occurs between God and his people is that we often misunderstand what types of blessings God wants to give us. We miss out on fully knowing how much God loves us when we are looking for the wrong gifts. In Jeremiah 2:11-13 (NIV) it states:

But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord. “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Here we can see that we sin not only by forsaking God but also by choosing other gods that are broken and worthless. When we seek after things that are not of God, we forfeit the favor God wants to gives us.

2. You Could Be Forfeiting God’s Favor if You Have Lost Focus of Your True Purpose in Life

As I mentioned at the beginning, God does not show “favoritism,” which means he does not choose to treat some people better than others because of their race, gender, or earthly status. God loves everyone equally.

However, this does not mean that God treats all of us the same. God will not bless us when we are living in sin because God does not want us to remain in sin. Therefore, one way we will forfeit the favor that could be ours is when we lose focus of our true purpose.

When we really want God’s favor, we have to ask ourselves, “What are we asking God to bless in our lives?” When you are asking God to bless your efforts to glorify him, you will have God’s favor because this is God’s purpose for your life. For as James 4:3 (NIV) states, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

3. You Could Be Forfeiting God’s Favor if You Are Stuck in Sin and Not Repenting

God’s grace is far more lavish than the human mind can comprehend. While there are certain sins that require society to punish severely, while there are certain actions that truly can damage a human relationship beyond repair, and while there are always consequences when we disobey God – the Bible is clear that there is literally nothing that can outweigh the grace of God for those who receive it.

The last part of that sentence, however, is crucial, “for those who receive it.” While God’s grace is endless and there is no sin that can separate us from the love of God, the Bible is also clear that God’s grace will not take effect in our life unless we receive it through faith.

The difference between those who rebel against God and those who find God’s favor is not that one group sinned and the other did not. Romans 3:23 states that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. The difference is that one group repented and the other group did not.

If you are stuck in sin and you repent, God will forgive you and help you get unstuck if you keep depending on his grace. However, if you are stuck in sin and you stop repenting, you are forfeiting God’s favor and grace in your life.

4. You Could Be Forfeiting God’s Favor if You Are Neglecting God’s Presence

There is basically two ways the phrase “God’s presence” is used in the Bible. There’s God’s omnipresence, which means that God is everywhere. But then there is God’s manifest presence or what some would refer to as his personal presence.

God truly is everywhere. As Psalm 139:7-8 explains, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” However, just because God is everywhere does not mean we always experience and enjoy his presence.

To truly experience the favor of God in your life, you must seek God’s presence. God is always there, but we do not always recognize him or pay attention to him; thus we miss out on the joy that only his presence can bring us. As Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”