For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. 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.
This is a power-packed section of intentional spiritual encouragement. It is like a spiritual oxygen bar for the Colossians, I imagine. So let’s dig into what Paul is saying (keep in mind, Paul is under house arrest, he cannot go anywhere).
1) Paul is praying for them all the time. He has made a conscious choice in his mind to use this challenging circumstance for good. Paul was a traveler, an adventurer, a speaker, etc. He was probably an extreme extrovert (maybe like me). Being confined to a house likely created feelings of sadness, lack of fulfillment, and loneliness. Yes, people came to visit him. But he could not go into the mountains on a hike or work in his occupation, or preach. So he did what he could do. He prayed a lot. He focused on what options God put in front of him to share the gospel. This is an incredible example of Paul allowing God’s Spirit to control his mind and generate fruit from hardship.
2) Paul petitions God to fill them with good things. And implied here is he is also considering how the things of this world, those evil things, will try and take up the Colossians mind-space. So I imagine that he is calling out, by name, the struggles common to man in this world, and binding the evil one trying to infiltrate the church in Colossae. But mostly praying for knowledge and depth of wisdom. These are not “name it, claim it” gifts. We don’t get to take a test to identify these. No, they are given by God’s Spirit as we are obedient to him in loving and serving others. As we act out our faith God gives these gifts to all of us.
3) The result of this knowledge and wisdom to do God’s will is: a) bearing spiritual fruit in good works, b) growing in the knowledge of God, c) being strengthened in spirit through God’s might to have incredible perseverance and endurance, and d) to have a prevailing joy that gives thanks to God and hopes in our inheritance in heaven with all the saint.
WOW! So much for the “take it easy and just serve in church on Sunday” Christian life. Paul had much greater plans for the Colossians! And God has much greater plans for us too.
This is why he lets us experience hardship. He wants to make us into elite spiritual warriors to take major spiritual ground through the power of his Spirit. It is not a life of casual service. It is all-out devotion to the cause of Christ.
Will it be hard? Yes. Will we struggle? Yes. Will we be spiritually, relationally, mentally, and physically taxed? All of the above. So it is OK. It is normal for a Christian to not always have it all together in the battle. We are supposed to be on the front lines, and on the front lines we have battle wounds that turn into battle scars!
Paul had battle scars, many of them. And he didn’t worry about what others thought about them either. He knew he was a broken sinner, saved by grace.
Lord, thank you for the freedom to be human, to be broken, to be imperfect. Thank you that I can walk around spiritually bloodied and you are proud of me. And thank you for prayer warriors like Paul who encourage me in the battle. I also pray for those who point fingers and shame those who are hurting or judge them. Turn their hearts, Lord! Thank you for rewarding those front lines warriors who serve. I am seeking your spiritual rewards and to bring you glory!
