Colossians 1:9-12, “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
The goal of every Christian should be to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so that we might walk in a manner pleasing to our Father, and to be strengthened with the power of His glorious might so that we might attain steadfastness and patience.
Our kind Father has seen fit to require every follower of Jesus to be born again, and to begin our lives in Christ as little children, in order that He might train us up in the way we should go. He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness (Hebrews 12:10).
It is the Father’s will that we attain steadfastness and patience; it is His will that we learn to persevere in all situations. And those who persevere to the end will receive the crown of life, (James 1:12). So it is absolutely imperative that we not run from trials, though they be by fire, and that we submit to our heavenly Father in the midst of each one, trusting Him to keep us safe and deliver us.
All the fulness of Deity dwells in Jesus and in Him we have been made complete, (Col 2:9). He is now our wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, (I Corinthians 1:30). And it is by God’s own doing that we are in Christ, in order that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord,” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). So, even when we endure the hottest of fires, we cannot take credit, for we are in Jesus, and it is by faith in Him that we are able to endure. It is by submitting to the Lord that we are able to endure trials and tribulations, trusting the Holy Spirit to intercede when we don’t have the words to convey what we feel. We have nothing whatsoever of which to boast, except the love of our Father and His Son, Jesus, in whom we were sealed by the Holy Spirit, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory, (Ephesians 1:13-14).
One of the hardest trials I have ever gone through was when my only child was going crippled right before my eyes.This went on for approximately a year and a half, or maybe a little longer. The Lord had witnessed to my heart that He would heal my son, and I believed Him. But, even after the Lord witnessed to my heart, my son continued to grow worse and worse. Several times I had to pull off to the side of a very busy highway because I couldn’t see through my tears. I would burst into tears unexpectedly just from the weight of the burden I was bearing.
Once a dentist who was giving my son a dental check up came out into the lobby of his office and told me that my son had a small cavity and wanted to know if I wanted him to fill it during that visit. I immediately burst into tears and shook my head, yes. He looked dumbfounded that I had started crying over a small cavity. But it wasn’t the cavity I was crying over; it was the fact that my boy’s body was decaying right in front of me, and had been for many months. The pressure seemed to be unbearable throughout this process, but, thanks be to God, I had help to ease the suffering, for no matter how hard, or how dark, it became, the One who loves me gave me glimmers of hope in the darkness. Time after time He would remind me that He is trustworthy. He would also comfort me by telling me He understood what I was feeling and that He didn’t judge me for those feelings. He was so very kind and understanding; He bore my pain with me; He loved me, He loved me beyond words.
When the Lord healed my son, He did so in an instant. And He did it when I spoke the words, “In the name of Jesus be healed, be whole, be well,”. These words came out of me without any thought on my part. I have no idea why I said those precise words, but I do know my son was healed instantly when I said them. From that moment on the ordeal was over; it was nothing but a memory.
Now, I would like to tell you the impact this whole experience had on me:
I was not proud that I had endured this year and a half trial, nor was I proud that it ended by my speaking in Jesus’ name. I was thoroughly aware that I had nothing to be proud of in myself. Instead, I was humbled beyond words at what the Lord had done for me from beginning to end; from His concern and His understanding of what I felt everyday, to His ever-present help in my time of need, as well as His comforting my wife and my son throughout the process. He was so good to us. I had nothing of which to boast about, other than the Lord, who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth because He delights in these things, (Jeremiah 9:24). And I feel that same way to this day.
My friends, we are nothing; He is everything. We are pieces of dirt; He is the Creator of all things. We are chunks of clay; He is the Potter. By His own will and by His own power we are in Christ Jesus, who has become to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
In our walk with the Lord we should never be proud, we should always be humbled by His dealings with us. The closer we are to the Lord, the less we see of ourselves, and the more we see of His purpose for us in His kingdom, that of being filled with the knowledge of His will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that we might walk in a manner worthy of Him, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in good works, and increasing in the knowledge of God; and that of being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Dear friends, it is one thing to believe, and another to rest in that belief. It is one thing to cite the written Word, and another to place our hope in the Living Word. It is one thing to say we are Christians, and another to receive our life-blood from Christ. It is one thing to talk the talk, and another to walk the walk. You will know the difference by their fruits (Matthew 7:16)). And how do we bear good fruit? by walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, (Colossians 1:10).
We must continually gird the loins of our minds for action, fixing our hope completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ; for we were redeemed with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ, (I Peter 1:13,19). Let us attain all steadfastness and patience that we might please our Lord, and enter into His glory at the return of Jesus. Let us forsake ourselves at all times, and submit to Him in all things, that we might share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Let us forever serve Him who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth simply because He delights in these things. Let us look away from ourselves and acknowledge Him, giving Him praise and honor and worship, now and throughout eternity. He alone is worthy.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
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