Ephesians 1.1 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the
will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus...
Part of our problem is we don’t see easily ourselves the
way God sees us, nor do we completely understand just what it is God is up to
in our lives that is so stinking important. But it all starts here: by the will of God.
When is the last time I woke up and said to myself: “Here, I am, who I am, and here is the new
day, by the will of God!”? You see, unless I understand (and accept) what
is woven, by the will of God, into the fabric of my being, I won’t wake up and
say, “…by the will of God.”
That’s why we have the Ephesian letter, Paul was reminding
them (and us, and me) what the truth really was/is! Do you think many in today’s
political realms give a crap about you or me or our faith? Probably not. Do you
think many in the media, or the arts, or higher education really care that you
and I are who we are, and why we, are because of the will of God? Probably not.
It doesn’t mean there aren’t the believing sons of God in
the realms of politics, and all that other stuff, but it certainly does mean
that the world cares little about the will of God (unless it is to blame Him
for some misfortune.)
The good news is: that God cares about you and me and “His intent was that now, through the
church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and
authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he
accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Chapter 3.10-11) Funny how most
rulers and authorities (whether here or in heavenly realms) don’t give a crap
about what God is up to or what His eternal purposes are for you and me…
Today, the filter through which I am to view my life is
this: by the will of God. I am to accept what He, Himself, calls me and to live
accordingly. I’m to daily summon the courage to believe that I am who I am by
His will regardless of what anyone else says! It’s my calling to say: Paul Turk, son of God, an employee of ACE
Hardware in Baker City, Oregon, by the will of God. Can I believe that? It’s
true.
Today, I am to summon courage to believe God in the face
of all this world has to offer through people who don’t give a crap about God.
I think it’s more important to live that way, than to live in fear and cowering
of what will be the next stunt somebody somewhere pulls. My defense is to
believe what God says about me, and how I’m to live in the knowledge of what He
says.
Father, today I read that You got this whole thing going
so that You could demonstrate Your incomparable wisdom in doing what You’ve
done to, for, and through tiny little people like me – by Your will. You’ve willed that I live to the praise of Your glorious
grace, and that I am marked in Jesus with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who
is the deposit guaranteeing my inheritance until the redemption of those who
are God’s possession—to the praise of Your glory. In You today: Courage, come!!
Amen!
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