Daily Devotion | Day 289
“All things that the Father has are mine. Therefore I said that He [the Holy Spirit] will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:15, NKJV).
Jesus had many things to teach us when He came into the world. Of the things on His agenda, one was central to His ministry: to give us an accurate knowledge of our heavenly Father and how our relationship with Him should look like. Consequently, in the four Gospels you will notice that He spent a lot of time teaching us about the Father. John’s Gospel is a perfect example of this.
In John the word “Father” (referring to God) occurs about 124 times (a simple word search based on the King James Version). Compare that to the remaining accounts of the Gospel. In Luke the word “Father” occurs about 23 times, 5 times in Mark and 44 times in Matthew. There are more occurrences in John of the word “Father” than the other three Gospels combined. It would be no exaggeration to rename John’s Gospel as the Gospel of the Father.
Why the long introduction?
In the Gospels, you see Jesus’ relationship with the Father on full display. He was showing us how we also ought to relate to the Father, because Jesus and we have one and the same Father and God: “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (John 20:17). Look at today’s opening Scripture. Jesus says the Holy Spirit will take what belongs to Him (Jesus) and declare it to the Apostles. But our focus today is on Jesus’ first statement: “All things that the Father has are mine.” Now compare this with what satan promised Jesus when he tempted Him: “Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours” (Luke 4:7).
By making this offer, satan was suggesting that Jesus didn’t have everything He needed, i.e. Jesus was in lack. When you’re offered all the kingdoms and glory of the world, that is tempting. But Jesus didn’t fall for it. Why? Because of what He said in John 16:15. He was fully aware that all things the Father had belonged to Him as well. As a result, Jesus was confident and secure in Himself. He had no sense of lack. He had no sense of an unmet need. Satan’s temptation was intended to trigger in Christ a sense of lack. He failed.
Jesus wants us to have the same sense of security He had. He wants us to know that all that the Father has are for His children as well. It is the sense of lack that drives people to anxiety, fear, depression and other harmful emotions. When you know that all that the Father has is yours, you will not envy others. Envy is the fruit of insecurity. When you know that all that the Father has is yours, you will not worry. Worry is a child of insecurity. When you are confident that all that the Father has is yours, you will not use dishonest means to get ahead in life. When you are confident that all that the Father has is yours, you will not fall for satan’s lies.
It’s important to remember that you are not your circumstances. In Christ, you are greater than the sum of your circumstances.
Confess with me, “By the grace of God, I am not my circumstances. I am joint-heir with Christ. All that the Father has is mine. Abundance is my inheritance. I do not worry and I am not moved. My heart is glad and my spirit rejoices. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.”
Blessing: May the Lord open your eyes to see that all that He has is yours. And as you become aware of this truth, may blessing after blessing manifest abundantly in your life. Amen.
For further study: 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 and Luke 15:22-32
Higher-Self Realities 