Ephesians 1:3-6 English Standard Version (ESV)

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us^[a] for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

God chose us to be in His beloved Son Jesus Christ. Was He wrong to choose us? Please believe that God, knowing all things before He ever started, knew what He was doing. He did not make a mistake in choosing us.

Deuteronomy 32:4 English Standard Version (ESV) “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”

Do we have the right to ask God to change His mind, His Will, His Word?

Listen carefully how we pray and ask ourselves if it sounds like we are asking exactly that based on judgment, our passions, and self-interests.

God does not allow us to know which ones He has chosen that have not yet surrendered to His Lordship. He asks us to love mankind as if they might say yes. We are not to judge who is worthy to receive the gospel. It is meant to be spread abundantly everywhere without care as to the condition of the earth it falls upon.

“I have cast the seed upon good soil and now it is up to me to pray it into fruition.”

Does that sound right? It is not. It is full of judgment, fear, and selfish ambition.

John 15:22 English Standard Version (ESV) If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

Do not make excuses for others in prayer.

Jeremiah 8:15 English Standard Version (ESV) We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

Looking around us at current events this might seem to be an appropriate scripture. It sure sounds like current events. When things begin to happen in the world and we seek the bible to help us sort out the why of it all, we can come across scriptures that read like this is it. It is not. It is a different time and a different place and a different people. What happened then has nothing to do with our current situation.

God knew what was happening then and He knows what is happening now. When we look for answers in the bible we are often asking the wrong questions seeking an answer we can live with. It does not work that way. If we have accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts then the answers to the real questions to the real problem dwells inside us.

Proverbs 12:25a English Standard Version (ESV) Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

Are you dissatisfied with current events? Those emotions have existed for as long as man has been cast out of paradise. How to deal with that dissatisfaction dwells in us. Are you unhappy? You are not going to find any lasting joy in the world. Our joy dwells in us. Are you afraid? He who overcame the world abides in us.

Are you tired? Me too but mine is old age. What is making you tired? Striving in the world is like swimming upstream through rapids. You get beat up, exhausted and gain nothing. Try to find today’s answers in the bible can be like striving against the Spirit. He is here to speak truth into our lives. He is not “the answer man” who just tells us what we want to hear. He is here to speak about Jesus Christ, who by the way abides in our hearts.