May 31 I Friday

2 Chronicles 13-14

John 12:1-26

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”   —Ephesians 2:6-7

There may be days when we feel bogged down with stress and struggles over things in life. Perhaps we need a gentle reminder of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). “All these things” does not include everything we want, but everything we need. To seek the kingdom of God is to seek after God Himself, and in earnestly doing so, everything we need becomes everything we want.

God works in us first before He works through us. For the majority of us, it is in a period of brokenness where we first begin to seek God and, as He puts the pieces of our lives together, He places in our hearts a hunger and thirst to genuinely desire a relationship with Him. As we crave His goodness and righteousness, there will come a point when we intentionally turn away from anything we know that is not pleasing to God and our own plans—
a sure sign of the Holy Spirit’s work in us.

We can have all the money in the world and still be empty. We can have prestige, power, status and still not be at peace. We can have it all and lose it all, but when the eyes of our hearts are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, the agenda of Christ takes precedence in our lives. Paul writes, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19). In Him, we find hope,
peace and great riches, as the words of this old hymn continue to ring true:

He giveth more grace, as our burdens grow greater

He sendeth more strength as our labours increase

To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy

To multiplied trials, He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our Father’s full giving has only begun

His love has no limits

His grace has no measure

His power, no boundary known unto men

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,

He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

No matter what we face, when our

eyes are set on God, He giveth us

every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Prayer: Precious Lord, thank You for the glorious riches we have in surrendering our life to You. I ask that Your agenda take precedence in my life and that I draw on every blessing I have in You.