Day 4 | Colossians 1:9-14

Lisa Sheffler, author

It took less than three hours for me to realize that I was completely out of my depth. As soon as the highly qualified nurse left the room and I was alone with my tiny, sweet, baby girl, a wave of panic swept over me. I had read all the books, gone to the classes, talked to other parents, but I still felt completely ill-equipped to take care of the most precious and amazing thing I had ever seen. But it wasn’t just the thought of caring for a helpless infant, which is intimidating enough, but within seconds my mind ran through all the challenges I knew were coming, from the toddler tantrums to the teenage drama to the possibility of problems I didn’t even know existed.  I knew I was going to need Jesus, and a lot of him, to do this parenting thing. And I wasn’t wrong.

Colossians 1:9-12, the prayer we are going to look out today, became my “go-to” prayer. It’s not directly about parenting, but about asking for greater understanding of God and his will — something every parent needs. It is a prayer that I pray often and the hope it provides sustains me. No matter what you need wisdom for in your life, Paul’s prayer for the Colossians is something that is worth praying as we prepare for whatever lies ahead in 2021.

Read

Colossians 1:9-14

⁹ For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. ¹³ He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Reflect

Notice all the results following the “so that” in verse 9.

We all want to know what God’s will is for our lives. What career should we pursue? Should we get married and if so, to whom? Should we have children? Where should we live? Should we buy a house? How should we serve in our local church? How should we support God’s work around the world?

Paul doesn’t give us a “Step by Step Program for Determining God’s Will” (even if that’s what we’d like when we have a difficult choice to make), but these verses do indicate that spiritual wisdom is available through prayer. The purpose of that wisdom is to live a life that is fully pleasing to God and that bears good fruit.

All these good ends that result from knowing and living God’s will require strength and power from the Holy Spirit. Our lives will need to display a good deal of patient endurance as we follow Christ, and the Holy Spirit is ready and willing to provide it. God’s power has already delivered us from the Kingdom of darkness and into Christ’s Kingdom. That same power will enable us to live according to God’s design.

When I was a young believer wrestling with making decisions, a mentor encouraged me to focus less on trying to figure out God’s will and more on knowing God. She was right. As we grow in intimacy with Christ through prayer, his Word, worship, fellowship with other believers, and serving his Kingdom, we will find that our perceptions will change. We will grow to see the world more and more as God sees it and desire to see his love, wisdom, and justice permeate every corner. When we live out our gratitude to God who has rescued, redeemed, and forgiven us, we will want our lives to reflect his goodness and glory. Decisions that we make based in the knowledge of our Lord will please him and point others to him.

Paul paints a vivid image for us when he compares the Kingdom of Jesus with the dominion of darkness. Does that resonate with you as you look out at the world? So many people are in the dark, stumbling around, arms extended, fingers grasping, wanting to find the way to joy, peace, acceptance, justice, and hope. As Christians we can point them to the light. We who have been rescued know the way to a better Kingdom. And his name is Jesus.

What would it look like for you to “live worthily for the Lord and please him in every respect” (verse 10)? Is there something that comes to mind right now that you know will have to change?

How are you going to need wisdom, strength and power from the Holy Spirit to make this change?

How will remembering how God delivered you “from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (verse 13–14) motivate you to make these changes?

Pray Colossians 1:9–14 today for yourself and someone else.