Called to Take Action
God is really speaking to me about not being frozen in fear of failure but that I am meant to take action. As I am studying Ephesians, this idea of taking action becomes clearer with every verse. We are called to take action, to a life lived for Him.
My pastor said something really profound. It has stuck with me and I keep coming back to it in my mind over and over.
“Don’t let those who didn’t design you try to define you.” -Pastor Hal Santos (Grace Church, Fairview Heights, IL)
Who defines you?
All around us there are those that will tell us what we should do or be. They seek to define me, but God is the One who designed me and He has already said who I am in Him.
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, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:3-14 (ESV)
God says I am…
Blessed
“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” Ephesians 1:3 (ESV)
We have EVERY blessing in Heaven. Through Christ, we have this amazing gift. We are blessed. One of the definitions of blessed is “divinely favored.” We have the favor of the almighty God. Wow!
Chosen
“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,” Ephesians 1:4a (ESV)
There are many days when I don’t feel chosen. Sick, crabby kids. Endless laundry. Dust bunnies and dirty bathrooms to clean. A to-do that is never completed. Some days I feel more like a hamster who can’t get out of the wheel than a beloved, chosen daughter of God. I make mistakes. I make bad choices. But that is not who I am. God chose me before He even laid the foundations for the earth to be created. I am His.
Holy
“that we should be holy and blameless before him.” Ephesians 1:4b
Blameless
“that we should be holy and blameless before him.” Ephesians 1:4b
I am holy and blameless not in myself but because the righteousness of Christ has been attributed to me. He paid the price for me. God looks at me through the lens of His perfect Son.
Loved
“In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” Ephesians 1:5 (ESV)
In love. God is in love with me. With you. He loves us so much that He did the unthinkable in order to make us a part of His family. He adopted me. I am not just a servant or slave to an all-powerful Being. I am a daughter, with all the rights and privileges that entails.
Adopted
“In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” Ephesians 1:5 (ESV)
We are brought right alongside Jesus as children of God. His will is that we are members of His family through the cross of Christ.
Redeemed
“In him we have redemption through his blood,” Ephesians 1:7a (ESV)
I was trapped in sin, deserving a death sentence. But God. God sent Jesus to take my punishment. His blood rather than mine. His life instead of mine. I am redeemed. Bought with as a high a price as there ever was. Jesus Himself.
Forgiven
“the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ” Ephesians 1:7b-9 (ESV)
I am forgiven even for my unbelief in Him. When I deny Him, He doesn’t deny me. He still loves me. I am forgiven as soon as I ask.
Heir
“In him we have obtained an inheritance,” Ephesians 1:11a (ESV)
I have an inheritance from God. I am an heir to all that God has preordained for me as His child. An amazing inheritance.
Sealed
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” Ephesians 1:13 (ESV)
The Holy Spirit has sealed me. Fastened me into the family of God. I have the seal of God’s authority and empowerment in the form of His Holy Spirit, my Helper and Source of Power when I need it.
Designed and Empowered to Take Action
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:16-23 (ESV)
God is Our Source
We have been called to a hope. A life. A place in the body, in the church. God is the Source of our empowerment and our Designer.
Each one of us has been created to be unique and unusual. God has a special mission, one that only you can fill. A different one for me, one that only I can achieve. My kids have been entrusted to me as a mom because I am the mom they need to prepare them for the mission God has designed them to accomplish. My husband is designed differently from me (which drives me crazy sometimes) because he has a special job to do that I can’t do. We are placed in a neighborhood, in jobs, in a church, in a circle of friends for this time, for God’s reason. Some of it to prepare us for the future and some of it due to what God needs us to DO now.
We are each designed by an omniscient (all-knowing) God to take action. He doesn’t just wind us up and let us go. He empowers us and walks with as He calls us to action.
Designed and Empowered to take action.
Action Step:
Let’s take a moment and thank God for His definition of us. Say it aloud,
I am blessed.
I am chosen.
I am holy.
I am blameless.
I am loved.
I am adopted.
I am redeemed.
I am forgiven.
I am an heir.
I am sealed in Christ.
I am designed and empowered by God to take action.
Today I will not be defined by those who did not design me.
Prayer:
God, thank you that I am not unworthy, unloved, or unable. I am able because You have equipped me for the special job you have for me. Help me to boldly take action right here in the life where you have planted me. Open my eyes to see You at work and recognize the opportunities You are sending my way. In Jesus’ name, amen.