Reading
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:9b-14
Reflection
On Sunday, Pastor Brandon said it’s a spirit of fear (Romans 8:15a) that drags us backward. Sometimes, in that fear, we wait for the Holy Spirit to grab our hand and guide us with something as clear as a pillar of cloud or fire (see Exodus 13).
Paralyzed by fear, we wait—to be comforted, to feel peace.
But Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, explains that the purpose of receiving the Spirit is to prompt people to action. He and his companions pray that the church would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will—through the wisdom and understanding given by the Spirit—so that their lives would be changed. Not just comforted.
For Paul, receiving the Spirit leads to:
- Living a life worthy of the Lord
- Pleasing God in every way
- Bearing fruit in every good work
- Growing in the knowledge of God
- Being strengthened with God’s power (leading to endurance and patience)
- Giving joyful thanks to the Father
If we’re sitting in fear, we’re not doing those six things.
We wait and watch for a sign. But more often, the Spirit prods us into action from behind. It’s only through surrendering to the Spirit—and taking that first step—that we find the comfort and peace we were seeking all along.
I’m reminded of a quote from The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard: “Jesus brings us the assurance that the universe is a perfectly safe place for us to be” when we are living the Kingdom life.
Living for the Kingdom may not be comfortable, but it is safe—because God is in charge. So what are you waiting for?
Follow that nudge. Do the thing that moves you closer to the life Paul describes.
