I overheard a conversation this week of a father correcting his unruly child. Eventually the father finished the dispute declaring, “Enough of your attitude, just do as you are told!” I began to reflect on the word “attitude.” Someone once said, “Attitude determines altitude.”

Ephesians 1:11-14
11 “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will.

12 That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.

13 In whom ye also trusted…..in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.”

Consider verse 11. If I really believe God is working all things in His purpose for me according to the counsel of His own will, then my will has to bow to His as I change my attitude.

When I look at my life through God’s perspective I come to realize the following:

WHAT GOD TAKES FROM ME IT IS GAIN TO LOSE!…..My loving Heavenly Father is always seeking what is best for me.

The following truth is often quoted, “If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all!” I can only declare that Jesus is Lord by the Holy Spirit. Verses 13-14 remind us that the Lord has given us His Holy Spirit of promise as an earnest, a deposit of the promise of our inheritance. The Holy Spirit sealed our believing in Jesus. He is a mark of reality in my life, Someone I can depend on.

Verse 11 states our “predestination according to the purpose of Him who makes all things after the counsel of His own will.” If I board a bus marked up for LLANDUDNO, it will not take me to BANGOR! It is predestined for Llandudno. God “who began a good work in us” has predestined our lives and “is faithful to complete the work.” We do not always see or understand the route He is taking us, but it is where we learn to trust Him.

There are times when I limit God and grieve the Holy Spirit when I “put the brakes on” through my own understanding or fears, instead of trusting and abandoning myself to Him. In His loving kindness He withdraws a measure of His peace and grace from my life to indicate to me that I have stepped off His pathway. In this way the peace barometer of my spirit registers that something is wrong. Desperate for the smile of His presence I seek repentance under His guidance. Repentance restores His rest and peace in my life that I so value. God may remove His peace and grace for a season to get my attention, but He never removes His love for me. That is steadfast and constant but His correction is part of His love as He encourages me to trust Him. He is faithful even in our unfaithfulness. He does not “wash His hands” of us.

Show me a child who can do as he likes – tragically he is a child who is not loved! There is a discipline in love for the healthy growth of a child – so it is in our spiritual growth under the eye of our Heavenly Father.

Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

Let us meditate on the promise in Jeremiah as we begin our journey through 2014, confident that He who started the work in us, is indeed faithful, willing and able to complete it…..:-

Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”