Author: Kristen Kansiewicz, LMHC

“God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.”

Paul invites us into a team huddle with today’s verses — I imagine a coach whispering to his players, “Ok everyone, here’s the plan…” What is not so secret (because God has made it known to the world) is that Jesus Christ holds all the authority and power. It’s all about him! God is bringing everything together, restoring heaven and earth, under the kingship of Jesus.

When we are connected to Jesus, we get a whole lot of royal privileges. God grants us an inheritance because we are his family (as we read about yesterday when he loved us and adopted us just because he wanted to). The big reveal in these verses? God makes everything work out.

Here’s your freedom for today: we can trust God because his plans work out. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a plan or two fail in my lifetime. Even the best of ideas and intentions can go wrong because we live in a fallen world and we are sinful people. But God is working his plan out and everything is right on schedule. He chose us in advance — he is making sure our salvation is secure. This does not mean that he makes all of our life circumstances happen the way we want them to. God is not working stuff out for you. He is working stuff out for himself. It pleases him to love us and save us, so he will do it. We can trust that no matter what happens to us on this earth, God will accomplish your eternal salvation if you grab hold of Jesus.

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”

How could God love us before he made the world? We didn’t even exist yet, but he loved us. Have you ever daydreamed of something you hoped would happen someday? Perhaps prayed for your children or grandchildren before they were born? God’s been doing that since before time existed. He decided he wanted to adopt us into his family before we ever knew we needed one.

Why did God love us? Why bother? For reasons likely far beyond our understanding, it brings him pleasure to love us. It makes him happy. And it is for his pleasure, happiness, and glory that we are designed to exist. He showers us with kindness because he loves doing it. We don’t earn those gifts, he just wants to give them.

Here’s your freedom for today: God is generous by nature. People have a lot of ideas about who God is, and those ideas come from a lot of different places. But if we explore what the Bible says about God, we find a whole lot about how kind, generous, and loving he is. What about his anger? He’s like a protective dad whose kids got bullied on the playground. Injustice and oppression burns fury within him. But his children — those who say “yes” to his offer of adoption — he loves and defends fiercely. Open yourself to God’s generosity today. He wants to shower you with kindness — will you say “yes” to his offer of adoption?

Share FreedomForToday.com with your friends and invite them to join us for Ephesians!

“This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”

Paul is writing a letter to the Christian believers in Ephesus, which is made clear in these introductory verses of Ephesians. We may tend to skim through the opening lines of Paul’s letters, but they provide key historical information as well as a sense of what is most important to Paul.

Paul does not waste any time getting right into spiritual language that is pretty significant. These words are easy to gloss over but they are packed with meaning. I notice the words “all” and “every” — these are not small words. Paul wants to remind his readers that every single thing we have is because God has given it to us (and he’s not talking about material possessions — he’s talking about a whole new spiritual reality that Jesus has made possible).

Here’s your freedom for today: you can always count your spiritual blessings. No matter what condition you find yourself in here on earth, you have one thing Satan cannot rob from you: unity with Jesus. He can steal your possessions, physical health, or even friends and family members. But if you are a follower of Jesus, Satan can’t pry you from his grasp. Jesus is constantly providing us with spiritual blessings that matter far more than anything Satan can take. Count your spiritual blessings today — how is Jesus helping you grow spiritually and deepening your faith?