Waiting is arduous. There is no map of predictability. There’s no guarantee of if or when circumstances will change. We like to affirm purpose in the waiting by sharing sentiments like “waiting can seem like punishment, but it’s usually preparation.” This encouragement might be true but not always.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a captivating rags-to-riches story—one where hope has the final say and what was broken is restored. Maybe that’s why I gravitate to those YouTube vlogs about a couple who has been struggling with infertility for years finally receiving their rainbow baby. Or the thirty-five year old who finds the godly spouse of their dreams. Perhaps you resonate with this attraction to such beautiful reversals of circumstance.

It makes sense for us to long for restoration and redemption. After all, God is our Creator, and we have eternity written into our DNA (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We see the brokenness around us, and we experience the hardships of this life firsthand. We long for pain to be no more and for wholeness to be ushered into existence.

But what happens when the outcome isn’t neat, shiny, or polished? What happens if the happily ever after doesn’t come? How do we hold in tension the victories and unfulfilled longings?

When we find ourselves looking at our present circumstances as something that needs to change and we live in a mindset of preparation, we often walk away with the understanding that once the change comes and we receive the blessing, life will be better. We hold onto hope that our change is right around the corner and that our circumstances will improve. Surely, when events turn around, it will mean God’s goodness and favor are over me, we might say to ourselves.

But what if we’re missing the big picture of what should be changing in our lives? What if the thing we’re hoping for isn’t where we should set our longings? God isn’t always preparing us for new circumstances, but He is using every circumstance to prune us to better reflect Him.

Understanding God’s Favor

I believe we often misunderstand what God’s goodness in our lives means. When the ring by spring comes, the career takes off, or the finances increase, we might think to ourselves, Wow! Look at God’s favor and goodness over her! While circumstances like these are certainly a blessing and are not bad, it puts the focus on the physical instead of the spiritual blessings in our lives.

We begin to equate worldly success with God’s favor and goodness.

We begin to measure God’s favor and goodness.

We begin to shift our perspective to what is visible instead of fixing our eyes on what is unseen and eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

To reframe our mentality, we need to understand what favor means in the first place. So let’s take a minute to define it biblically. The Hebrew word for favor is chen, which connotes grace, kindness, and true compassion.1

We see this word used in Genesis 6:8, which tells us that Noah found favor in God’s eyes. Noah received favor, not because he was perfect but because he had faith in God that led him to obey God’s command to build the ark. We see the obedience produced by faith all throughout the Old Testament among other followers of God, including Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Hannah, and Esther.

With Jesus’s arrival, humanity’s understanding of faith and what it means to have God’s favor progressed. Using Abraham as an example, Paul emphasizes in Romans 4 that justification (being made right with God) has always operated by faith. But after Christ, we put our faith specifically in “him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:24–25).

We ultimately receive favor from God by means of His Son, Jesus. God grants to us the favor, goodness, and blessing that Jesus’s perfect life merited Him. Ephesians 2:8 explains this clearly when Paul reminds us that “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Trusting in Christ by faith grants us God’s favor.

When we look at the seemingly perfect life circumstances of others and compare them to the difficulties of our life, we might feel like God’s favor has departed from us. But through our faith in Christ, God’s favor is securely ours! We can praise God that His favor is not circumstantial but depends only on His grace and goodness shown to us in Christ.

Walking in God’s Favor

God’s favor already rests on you because of Christ—you don’t need to wait for circumstances to change. There are two ways we can walk in this favor.

When things go well circumstantially—when you receive a “yes” to your prayers, longings, and waitings—you can hold your head high and smile at God’s goodness in your life, knowing that you had His favor even if things didn’t work out.

And when you watch your desires crumble and sink through the cracks and your circumstances don’t change, you can still smile at God’s goodness in your life, knowing that His favor for you is secure through Jesus.

Because of the truth of who you are in Crist, you are favored by God and have received:

Adoption as sons and daughters into a heavenly kingdom (John 1:12).

An eternal inheritance secure with joy, peace, prosperity, beauty, and communion with God Himself (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Security in Christ—you are never forsaken, forgotten, or unseen (Hebrews 13:5).

Protection from the evil one because you’re shielded by God’s power (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Approval from God, who rejoices over and delights in you (Zephaniah 3:17).

Power from the Holy Spirit to live and know God’s will (John 14:26).

Direct access to God without needing to make sacrifices for atonement (Ephesians 2:18).

The fruit of the Spirit that produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in your life (Galatians 5:22–23).

The list could go on and on. God’s favor already rests on you because His grace has come to you through the goodness of Jesus Christ. His blessings may not come in tangible ways, but oh, how sweet to receive the blessings He’s already given us that surpass the things of this world.

You don’t need a new set of circumstances. You need Jesus in your present circumstances. The answers we long for lie within Christ—no matter the circumstance or lack of changing circumstances. When we fix our eyes on Jesus and behold our Savior, the things of this world will grow strangely dim. God’s favor already rests on you, so you can walk confidently through life no matter what circumstances come your way.

Would you pray with me?

How can it be that You, Lord, look upon me with favor?

The King of the world, who sits on the throne, has stooped to be near to me.

Your love is not in question. You fight for me, whom You delight in.

Lord, I confess my heart is prone to stray to lesser dreams than beholding the One who has saved my soul.

Help me not remain discontent or lukewarm.

Open my eyes to marvel at Your pursuit in my life.

I have surely found goodness in my Savior Jesus, who holds out His hands and reminds me that favor is already mine. Remind me of this, Lord.

Whatever circumstances come my way, teach my heart now to trust that I can surely seek Your ways above my own.

Amen.

Notes

“H2580 - Ḥēn - Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (NIV).” Blue Letter Bible. Accessed April 29, 2026. https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2580/niv/.

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Author Bio

Laura Conaway is a Publishers Weekly bestselling and award-winning author. She has written nonfiction for several publications, including Sadie Robertson Huff’s Live Original, and her fiction works have been published with HarperCollins and Sunrise Publishing. Laura holds a bachelor’s degree from Kutztown University in Library and English Education and Professional Writing. Her greatest joys are equipping the next generation to pursue a life of purpose in Christ and weaving together stories that show triumph through trials. When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys playing guitar or spending time outdoors.

Additional Resources:

Is God Enough for Me? | Contentment Bible Study		Jesus Is Better | Hebrews Bible Study		Waiting for Hope | Malachi Bible Study
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