Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:3 and 2:6 NKJV)

Belief must be brought into focus for these Scriptures to have any effect. Do I truly believe what these words tell me? Believe enough to apply them to my life? That takes more than head-knowledge; it takes heart-knowledge. Can I grasp the fact that God has multiple blessings for me residing in heaven, not when I get to heaven, but for the here and now? What kind of spiritual blessings are those? Well, what is God like because all blessings come from Him.

What does God say about His desire for me? For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) Even when my circumstances are difficult, this remains God’s will for me. Sometimes my heavenly Father allows testing so that I become stronger, and often that teaches me that I can endure more than I thought I could. By his stripes we were healed” (1 Peter 2:24) means that I have every right to health if I’m God’s child but it also means I must take care of my body and see myself as healed.

The largest problem I have, and probably many others, is teaching my mind to continually focus on these verses. They must become such a part of me that I know them like I know my name. When they are, then they’ll invade my thoughts and I’ll truly learn to believe them and see them becoming my life.

Can I picture myself sitting in heaven with Father and Jesus? Now, while I’m still living on earth? Evidently, that’s where Father sees me. So why can’t I? Is it because I’ve never been taught to think about myself this way? Or is it because I’ve rejected such thinking as being illogical? For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

I believe God wants His children to grow up and start thinking more like He does. At least, that’s what He’s telling me.