Colossians 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.
In last week’s blog, I examined the first portion of this
set of Scriptures. My intent had
been to work my way through the latter verses as well, but I found that there
was simply too much in the early portion to move ahead too quickly. It therefore seemed fitting that I
would write a part I and part II and use this week’s blog to finish my look at
this passage. Having spent the
last little while working through it, though, I can clearly see that a part III
will be necessary! :)
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.
This is an incredible prayer. As with the verses we examined last week, Paul continues to
use complete adjectives to indicate that this is in no way a half-hearted
prayer. Instead, he forges fully
ahead, going for the proverbial gusto and praying that the Colossians will be
strengthened with all power, for all endurance and patience with joy. Paul is not praying for them to be
filled with all the power they can muster. Oh no! He is
praying for something much greater than that –to be filled with all power
according to His glorious might. WHOA! Think about that for just a moment – to be filled with all
power according to His glorious might. That’s power beyond compare. It’s even beyond comprehension. Even a cursory look at a handful of the
many Scriptures related to God’s power makes this immediately clear:
Isaiah 40:12
– “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the
heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed
the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?”
Psalm 24:8 – “Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord,
mighty in battle!”
Psalm 50:1-6 – “The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and
summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth. Our God comes;
He does not keep silence; before Him is a devouring fire, around Him a mighty
tempest. He calls to the heavens
above and to the earth, that He may judge His people: ‘Gather to Me My faithful
ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice!’ The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is
judge!”
Psalm 93: “The Lord reigns; He is robed in majesty; the
Lord is robed; He has put on strength as His belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting. The
floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the
floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of
the sea, the Lord on high is mighty!
Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits Your house, O Lord,
forevermore.”
Paul is praying that the Colossians would be filled with all
power according to God’s glorious might – might that measures the waters in the
palm of His hand, and marks off the heavens with a span. Might that is strong and mighty in
battle. Might that has a devouring
fire before it and a mighty tempest around it. Might that wears strength as a belt. Might that is established from
everlasting. This is the might
with which Paul is praying for the Colossians to be filled. And yet, to be perfectly honest, I find
myself (and others) so often praying prayers that are by comparison weak and
wimpy. When we reach out to God,
we’re reaching out to the King of Glory – the Lord strong and mighty! Why don’t we stand up and claim the
access that we have to His might? Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the
throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of
need.” As I heard called during today’s message at church – “Stand
up, Christians!” Say “goodbye” to
complacency. Get off your seats
and approach the throne of grace – not with wishful thoughts, but with confidence
that you will receive mercy and find grace from the God of all might and
power. He holds everything in the
palm of His hands. He knows what
you’re going through. He’s even
allowed it to happen. Come before
Him and be blessed. Matthew 7:11 -
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to
those who ask Him!”
When I first committed this passage to memory, I found
myself praying this very prayer for people. I’m ashamed to admit, though, that I’ve gotten away from this
powerful prayer and exchanged it for less. I want to recommit myself to praying this very prayer for those
in need around me. I don’t want to
pray anything less for people than for them to be filled with all power
according to His glorious might and to have all endurance and patience with
joy, giving thanks to the Father.
This, my friends, is how Christians are going to have abundant life and
what’s more, change the world – by enduring all things with patience and with
joy, giving thanks. The
unfortunate reality is that Christians more often than not exhibit the same
responses to difficult situations as those who are not (yet) in relationship
with the Lord. As Steven Curtis
Chapman indicates in one of his songs, we may say it’s “only natural,” but we
as believers are NOT called to be “only natural.” Instead, we’re called to live supernatural lives,
strengthened by the glorious might that comes from our Father, the King of
glory! Christians living lives
that are only natural is exactly what leads the nonbeliever to view the church
as a gathering of hypocrites who are no different than anyone else. Stand up, church! Live the lives to which you have been
called – 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. Accept the abundant life He has for you today and be the light on the hill to those living in darkness. To this you have been called. And for this reason, God gave His
Son. Stand up and accept the might, endurance, patience and joy available to you through the love of our steadfast God!
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