We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Brandon Krech.
Bible Reading:
“16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
Ephesians 1:16-22
Word:
Paul opens our verses today with, “I have not stopped giving thanks for you.” How often do you stop to give thanks to God throughout your day? When you eat, when you get somewhere safely, when you are in the middle of the storm?
Many commentaries on this letter state Paul was in prison during while writing Ephesians. Yet if you look at the revelations and the thankful heart he has in these verses you would never know that. I love the next verse, verse 17, where, on behalf of other believers, he is asking for the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Jesus better. It is not to know Paul better, but to know Jesus better; not to glorify man for doing the works in God’s name, no, it is to glorify God for working through man as His body here on earth. God is spirit, and for him to do works in the body, He needs willing and obedient bodies to go forth.
Then, in verse 18, he expands to being enlightened to know how you are called. For we are all the body of the church to which Jesus is our head, if we are to work and look at your body, as an athlete we take on a lot of stress, heavy loads, taking time to manage healthy balanced nutritional diets, and know what you need to increase muscle, decrease fat, help your body to recover and how to push your body to the next level. When we add that to the context of this scripture, we can be confident in following our head (Jesus) to know what is best for the spiritual body. We have incomparably great power if you believe, praise God! How amazing is it to be able to look at your day, if you confidently are playing your part of the body that you will be given power and authority to do greater things through Christ Jesus.
Often people think serving God means you must preach, teach, or be in the public eye. For some it is, but if everyone is a mouth, then how effective would the body be? We each have our part to play, the key is knowing what your part is and being able to trust in God that he has enlightened you to be confident in knowing your part. For me, when I stepped into being chaplain for my local chapter, it was not something I had ever envisioned. It was nothing I was prepared to do, and honestly the thought of speaking in front of people caused anxiety. However, I knew with 100% confidence that God was asking me to step forward to that role.
In doing so, it has been such a blessing to get to connect with people in our chapter, to get on a more personal level with God as I prepare messages, and, in general, just be able to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Proverbs 3:5)” to allow God to work through me and minister to those in our group.
The verse above is filled with underlying heart of gratitude, if you read it carefully. Being able to be thankful for the wisdom and revelation, being thankful for knowing Him better, being thankful for the power for us who believe, thankful for raising Christ from the dead, being thankful for giving Jesus the power above all rule and authority not only when Paul wrote but also in ages to come. Being thankful made us part of the body so that we could know Jesus by walking in his footsteps, walking hand in hand in relationship with him, to know Him better.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the wisdom and revelation to know You better. I thank you for calling me forth to be part of your body, I ask that you continue to make clear to me what you are calling me to do. Because I know your voice and the voice of the stranger I will not follow. Amen!
Skillwork:
Read through the scripture again, and reflect on these questions:
- Do you know the plan that God has for you?
- Are you walking out that plan?
It is easy to get distracted in the natural world doing spiritual things, continue to ask God to give you the wisdom and revelation knowledge to confidently go forth and do what He is calling You to do!
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