40 Days Of Prayer - Day 06

Ephesians 1:4-5
"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."

It’s easy to get wrapped up in our circumstances that we miss out on how much God truly values us. Circumstances easily distract us from the truth of who we are in Christ. As a result, we wander around hopeless, scared and powerless.

Interestingly, Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians, not with a lament for his own situation (he was in prison at the time) but with an incredible reminder of how much we are valued by God. If ever there was a time for circumstance to make you feel hopeless, scared and powerless prison might just be it.

Yet that’s not how Paul responded. Instead, we see a man on mission, ready to lay down his life for the Gospel. It’s not a mystery why he acted this way. He understood his value in Christ. He understood how much God loved him. Look at Paul’s word choices here.

“God loved us and chose us in Christ”
“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family”
“This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure”

God has such high regard for his creation that He delights in adopting us into his family. Paul was so focused on being wrapped in the embrace of his loving Father that he looked at all things in life from the embrace of his loving Father.

I want to encourage you to spend some time in your Heavenly Father’s embrace today. Take time to get to know how much you are valued by Him. Replace those feelings of hopelessness and fear with the truth of God’s word. God delights in you.

"God help us to really see how much you love and value us and to act accordingly."

Written by Matt Keith