Recognize Your Inheritance

 Ephesians 1:11(NLT) 
“Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.”

“God's got a Will, and you’re in it!”

In Ephesians 4:23, God commands us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. This means we are to be aware of how we think, because our thoughts provide the framework for our tomorrows. We have a way of thinking that doesn’t always line up with the mind of Christ. We think the worst of others and we often think the worst about ourselves. We have doubt in many areas of our lives, and we don’t often make the connection between our conditions and the kind of mindset we have about God, His Word, and the life He wants for us. He commands that we examine our mindsets, compare them to Christ, then renew them to line up with the truth. 

To be humble is to recognize that we don’t know everything and that our way of thinking isn’t always right. Boy! That’s a tough one for a lot of people, because most of us think we’re always right. We see ourselves in a certain way, but in order to be the person God created us to be, we need to abandon some aspects of the way we think. We must replace the wrong way of thinking with the right way, so that truth can take root in our lives and blossom. When truth blossoms, it brings nothing but blessings with it, because Jesus Christ said in John 8:32(NLT), “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The darkest valleys of life take place because we are in bondage in some area of life. In other words, darkness happens in places where light doesn’t exist. We need to let the light in by changing how we think. A person that has been treated badly, feels defeated, and has endured many traumatic events in life may think that changing how they think and feel will not help them. But it isn’t a matter of simply changing our thoughts and feelings, it’s changing them to think like Jesus Christ thinks. His thoughts have power, and when we think like him, a spiritual transaction takes place. 

Jesus Christ tells us in John 14:6(NLT), “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” Jesus Christ is the way to victory! He’s the only way to have victory in this life. Through him, we can overcome all obstacles, because we are God's children. Romans 8:17 says that we are co-heirs with Christ. We are God’s spiritual siblings, and just as the blessings of strength, power, love, peace, joy and all the other spiritual blessings belong to Jesus Christ, they belong to us as well, because he purchased them for us with his life! 

Ephesians 1:18(NLT) says, “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.” This is the prayer for all eternity! Our hearts must be flooded with the light of Christ, and we are the ones to let that light in. We must make a decision to let Christ change our lives. We must give him permission to do this for us, and the way to give Jesus Christ permission is to take the action of changing our thoughts to his thoughts. 

Through the work that God accomplished through His all-powerful and precious Son, you and I have inherited all the benefits of God’s Kingdom. Some of us have forfeited our rights in Christ because we didn’t know what they were. Hosea 4:6 says that people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge, but we can put a stop to this. We can refuse to allow the enemy to continue stealing from us by studying, reading, trusting, and applying God’s Word. When we know the Word of God, victory in Christ is ours! 

Isaiah 40:29(NLT) tells us, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” We have the authority of Jesus Christ to handle any circumstance that comes our way. In and of ourselves, we don’t have any power, and we may feel inadequate, but God’s power and strength isn’t dependent on our feelings. His power and strength is the truth, and we must put His truth in our minds and hearts. We must depend on God’s Word and not on how we feel. 

God’s Word never fails, and it is impossible for HIM to fail. When you are feeling weak, God will demonstrate His strength through your faith in Him. Ephesians 1:14(NLT) says, “The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.” You have an inheritance in Christ, and because of this, you can draw-down from heaven’s overwhelmingly abundant resources. No matter what you’re going through, the Lord is with you, and He will never leave you defenseless. Recognize that your inheritance is in Christ! So, let your thoughts and feelings be anchored in God’s goodness towards you, and begin to thank Him for what He is doing and will do in your life! Keep the faith! ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Recognize Your Inheritance”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.