“3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,…7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” — Ephesians 1:3&7 (ESV)
Paul, writing to the churches around Ephesus, praises God and tells them why he praises Him. There is more to it than just the couple of verses I have quoted above, yet the message is clear in just these two. Praise God as He forgives us for the sins in our lives that we have repented, and that only comes from His grace which He freely gives to you and me.
I think that it is too often that when something good comes of our situations, we are relieved and then we move on to the next and experience the more difficulty and that leads to even more anxiety in our lives. It seems as though there is not always the acknowledgment of the relieving of the difficulty, not to mention where that relief comes from.
I believe that the relief comes from the grace of God in those times when we have repented of the sin in our lives and allow Him to do the work He does as we do the work we are tasked with doing for Him. I look to my own life and recent events where I have experienced the relief. I continue to pray daily praising God for His glory and the provisions and blessing in my life. No, I have not been made rich in monetary means, but I am rich in love. I daily repent for the sins I know I have committed and even those that I may not be cognizant of that have impacted the Him. I ask Him for forgiveness for the sins I will commit, and then again for those I did, all the while raising Him up.
In my life I have recently been promoted to a new position and found additional relief in other areas of my life and relationships, to which I know only came from the relationship I have with God and His continued provision and blessing on my life. I praise Him for it all and will continue to praise Him for who He is not what He does. I continue to ask for forgiveness even when I know that He already has forgiven me. I praise Him for that forgiveness and continue to ask for more, knowing that it is only He who provides and blesses and it is due to the relationship, acknowledgment of sin, repentance of sin, thanksgiving to Him for it all.
Without forgiveness, there would be no provision or blessing from God. Yes, there may still be prosper in certain aspects of life, financial or status and the like, but it is short lived and that leave one continually searching for that prosper. Without forgiveness, we are slaves to the next thing and not able to move forward with praise and thanksgiving.
Paul gives the example to you and me that we are to praise God for the provision and blessings in our lives thanks to our repentance of sin and His forgiveness, grace, and salvation that he pours out on us freely and in abundance.
What is your approach when you have found relief in your life? Are you praising God for the relief? What if you praise God for the forgiveness of your sins and praised Him for the relief as a result and then asked for more forgiveness through repentance?
Trevor's Thoughts 