When circumstances are overwhelming ... when we know we don't have the answers we're expected to have ... when we know that we are beyond the end of our rope ... then it is so refreshing to know that there are truths that are unchanging, truths that are simple and yet profound. Truths that have to be spiritually discerned.
That was Paul's prayer for the Colossians. He wrote to them:
Col. 1:9-14 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Colossians were in a confusing environment. Gnostic teachers claimed that people needed a "special revelation" to be truly spiritual - and that this was only available to a few. Legalists expected obedience to special days and feasts and seasons. The city, a trade center, was filled with pagan worship. And individuals faced their own personal struggles, as they do in every generation and place. Yet Paul laid out just some basics:
God's will - discerned spiritually and resulting in a pleasing walk. Strength, endurance, patience, thankfulness. And oh, the precious truth that we have been transferred from a kingdom of darkness to one of light.
Those are key thoughts for us all tonight - for you personally, I hope. Set aside the confusion and look at the simplicity of the message again. Are you trying to make a decision in line with God's will? Hear the reminder that it comes through spiritual knowledge and understanding - not natural! Do you struggle with whether your walk is pleasing to Him? Trust the promise that when you discern His will, He will lead you in a walk pleasing to Him. Take up His guarantee of strength, endurance, patience, and thankfulness. And remember tonight the basic gospel: He transferred you from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light! Can anything be more difficult than that miraculous transaction?
He is for you. Hear that tonight in Paul's reminders to the Colossians. He doesn't make it hard, He makes it simple. He is for you.
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