Looking for What You Already Have?

Have you ever had the experience of trying to find something, desperately searching, only to find out that the desired object was close at hand all along? Perhaps you were looking for glasses that were on top of your head, a pencil that you had left behind your ear, or something that you were carrying in your pocket without realising it. Many times, in these cases, we won’t find the object which we thought was lost, until someone else (hopefully) graciously points out to us where to look.

Could it be that sometimes, on a spiritual level, we’re also desperately looking for things that in fact we’ve already been given? When we receive God’s pardon, we become His children, and the Bible tell us that, in Jesus, we’ve become heirs of all of God’s promises (Ephesians 1:3). For example, you might be frantically searching for approval, either by calling out to God, or by looking to people. You might even get really desperate in this search, until God shows you that, the moment you accepted Christ, He says, “You’re My beloved child”.

One of the biggest keys in our search for our genuine needs (such as unconditional love, acceptance, affirmation, and security) is that we need God to open our eyes, so we can see what we’ve already been given when we came to believe in Jesus. This truth was powerfully brought home to me by way of a practical object lesson a few years ago.

I was foraging for mushrooms and spent most of the day searching far and wide. I wasn’t successful, and had grown rather frustrated, until I returned home that is. There on the bank, right in front of my door, was an incredible crop of the best mushrooms I could have wished for.

I realised that many times we look far afield for things that are, in fact, close by. But we need our eyes opened. We need God’s illumination. Today’s prayer is practical and based on Paul’s prayer in Ephesians. I believe that, if we pray in faith, God will most certainly answer.

Prayer: Father, please open my eyes so I may see more of the blessings You’ve given me in Jesus. Please help me understand more of what I already have in Him. In Jesus’ name, Amen.