Awakening to What God Has Already Given
On Second Thought
There is something deeply unsettling about the thought of living over untapped wealth and never knowing it. The story of the elderly couple who labored for years on land rich with oil captures more than a financial oversight—it reveals a spiritual reality many believers quietly endure. They survived, but they never thrived. They endured, but they never explored. And in many ways, that is how countless followers of Christ live today—redeemed, yet unaware of the immeasurable riches already placed within them through Christ.
When I turn to Romans 5:1–11, I am reminded that our relationship with God is not built on scarcity but on abundance. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The Greek word for peace, eirēnē, carries the idea of wholeness, harmony, and restored relationship. This is not merely the absence of conflict—it is the presence of divine completeness. Yet how often do we live as though we are still striving to earn what has already been given? We approach God as though we are lacking, when Scripture insists we are already filled.
Peter deepens this truth in 2 Peter 1:2–3, where he writes that God’s divine power has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” The phrase “all things” leaves no room for deficiency. The Greek word panta means everything necessary—nothing omitted, nothing withheld. Through the knowledge (epignōsis) of Christ, a deep, relational knowing, not merely intellectual awareness, we are granted access to an infinite treasury. This treasury includes wisdom for decisions, strength for trials, peace in uncertainty, and love that extends beyond our natural capacity. As one theologian observed, “The Christian life is not about receiving more from God, but realizing what has already been given in Christ.”
This brings us to the unexpected nature of Jesus, especially as seen in Luke 19:28–44. The crowd anticipated a king who would overthrow Rome, but Jesus arrived on a donkey—a symbol of humility and peace. What they failed to see was that the true treasure was not political power, but divine redemption. They were looking for external transformation, while Jesus was offering internal resurrection. The same tension exists today. We often look for God to change our circumstances, while He is calling us to recognize what He has already placed within us. Resurrection life is not something we wait for—it is something we live from.
The tragedy is not that believers lack access to God’s resources, but that they fail to recognize them. Like the couple who never knew the value beneath their feet, many Christians live cautiously, spiritually undernourished, unaware that the fullness of God’s grace is already theirs. Paul writes in Ephesians 3:19 that we may be “filled with all the fullness of God.” That statement stretches the imagination. How can finite beings contain infinite fullness? The answer is not in our capacity, but in God’s provision. He does not give us fragments of Himself—He gives us His presence in entirety.
This realization begins to reshape how I approach each day. Instead of asking, “Do I have enough strength?” I begin to ask, “Am I drawing from what God has already provided?” Instead of feeling overwhelmed by circumstances, I remember that God’s grace is not reactive—it is already present. His power is not waiting to be released—it has already been given. The issue is not availability, but awareness. As A.W. Tozer once said, “We may as well face it: the whole level of spirituality among us is low… We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the Spirit is all but gone.” That statement calls us back to a deeper realization of what is already ours in Christ.
On Second Thought…
There is a paradox here that we often overlook: the treasure of God becomes most visible when we stop trying to prove we have it. We assume that if we truly possessed this infinite treasury, our lives would look stronger, more polished, more impressive. But Scripture reveals the opposite. The treasure shines brightest through weakness, not strength. The more aware we become of our limitations, the more clearly God’s sufficiency is revealed. That means the moments we feel most lacking may actually be the moments where God’s presence is most active.
This challenges the way we define spiritual growth. We often equate maturity with independence—handling life with confidence and control. Yet the gospel teaches dependence. The more we grow, the more we realize how much we need Him. The more we understand what we possess in Christ, the less we rely on ourselves. It is not about becoming self-sufficient, but God-aware. That is where the paradox deepens: we already have everything we need, yet we must continually learn how to live as though that is true.
So perhaps the real question is not whether God has given enough, but whether we are willing to see differently. The crowd in Jerusalem missed the King because He did not fit their expectations. Are we doing the same? Are we overlooking the treasure within because it does not look the way we imagined? Resurrection life does not always feel triumphant—it often feels quiet, steady, and hidden. Yet it is there, shaping us, sustaining us, and calling us to live from a place of fullness rather than lack.
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