As time has passed, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not even close to living in the reality of all that God has done for us.
Look at the blessings found in just one chapter, Ephesians 1:
It begins with “grace and peace to you.” Then those of us who are faithful in Christ Jesus are told we’re blessed with every spiritual blessing in Heaven (think about that one for a minute), that we’re chosen in love before the beginning of creation, His grace was freely bestowed on us, He lavished complete forgiveness by His blood, He revealed the mystery of His will to us, we have obtained an inheritance, and we were sealed with the Holy Spirit.
And that’s just one chapter. Keep reading in God’s word and you’ll find many more.
Towards the end of Ephesians 1, Paul prays that we will understand the hope of God’s calling, the riches of the inheritance He’s given us, and “what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
I need that prayer every day, because most days I’m oblivious to all that the Lord has done and given me. It’s like He’s made a deposit of one hundred billion dollars in my bank account, and I’m walking around moaning and complaining that He’s given me ten cents.
Part of the problem is my focus. I get too wrapped up in tasks, problems, discouragement, the stupid things people do, my sin, or the pleasures of this world.
The other problem is the blindness that comes with having sin-loving flesh. We “see in a mirror dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12) now, which means we’re spiritually dense. Most days, we don’t get it. Oh, we know that Jesus died on the cross, but we really haven’t absorbed and internalized everything God has done for us. If we had, we wouldn’t waste so much time with things that don’t count for eternity.
If I really understood, accepted, and lived like I was blessed with “every spiritual blessing,” not just those in Ephesians 1, but all of them in the Bible, I’d probably be so joyful I couldn’t handle it.
It was a revelation of the love of God in a deeply personal way that set me free from the bondage to sexual sin in 1999. This was just one touch, one revelation from the Lord in one area, and look what it did. Imagine what would happen if He opened my eyes to all of His love, blessings, and mercy. My heart wouldn’t be just overflowing; it would be a geyser of love and joy.
I keep reading in Scripture of blessing after blessing that He’s given us, and it keeps hitting me that I don’t get it. I know plenty of Scripture, but the wonder of it all hasn’t burst my heart open with love and joy like it would if God opened my eyes to it. If the truth doesn’t go from the head to the heart, it doesn’t do us much good. At worst, we turn into a self-righteous hypocrite.
The only way I know that the truth gets from the head to the heart is by a touch of the Holy Spirit, and the large majority of the time these touches have come when I was one on one with the Lord. My list of wants and needs are set aside, my focus is off of me and onto Him, and I’m intently listening to and seeking Him.
Lately I’ve been asking God to show me more of what that one hundred billion deposit means to me.
Maybe it’s something we all need to pray.