Fin Sheridan
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32
The “kingdom” that Jesus refers to here is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom is God’s presence, his power, his promises and his provision. When we follow Jesus, we start to experience those things more and more within our lives; we live with a sense of closeness to God, we see and feel his power in our life, the promises in the Bible are true for us and we will see his provision in many different ways.
We often think that we’ll only see those things when we’ve got our lives all together but notice how Jesus opens: he says “Fear not!” Why would he say that? It’s because he knew they were afraid. He knew their mess. He knew their humanity. Then he says that the Father is pleased to give them the Kingdom; one version says that it is “his pleasure”. It delights God to give to us. It gives Him joy. Even, and maybe especially, when we are afraid. Or guilty. Or ashamed. Or tired. Or worried.
In their fear, he brought reassurance of how God felt about them and what he was going to do for them.
Today, you can go into your day, whatever situations are before you, knowing that God delights to give you more of his presence, more of his power, more of his promises and more of his provision.