When our daughter, Payton, was little she believed candy to be essential to life. Healthy food held little to no appeal to her. One evening, when we violated her clear constitutional right to sweet goodness, she dramatically and tearfully declared that she absolutely had to have it. It was as ridiculous as you might imagine hearing our four year old reason that her greatest need in life is processed sugar.

Often, as children of God, we are not much different than our Payton. We pursue what is earthly, unnecessary, and sometimes unhealthy for us. We even convince ourselves these pursuits are essential for a happy life. All the while, we fail to recognize God’s abundant provision for our truest needs.

Ephesians 1:3 states, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

Paul, in Ephesians 1:3, tells us that God the Father, through Christ, has granted us every spiritual blessing. The word blessing used here translates well to benefit. Imagine the grandeur of this promise! Everything essential to abundant spiritual life is already ours in Christ. These never-ending spiritual resources are mediated to us through the Holy Spirit in the form of grace.

Now, please note that it doesn’t say material or earthly blessings. God never promises those things. In fact, to help put this verse in perspective for us, we should observe that in 1 Corinthians 4:11-13, Paul gives an account of his earthly and material status. He wrote that he had nothing, was hungry, thirsty, homeless, dressed in rags, persecuted, slandered, and treated as scum of the earth. How can a man who clearly had so little good on earth teach us that the Father has given us everything we need? Paul understood that Christ, and the benefits of being found in him, are the only essentials for abundant life.

The year 2020 wreaked havoc on many of our earthly benefits. It wrecked our economy, our ability to freely move about and travel, our entertainment, our political stability, our health, and so much more. This left us all a little disoriented and perhaps even feeling hopeless at times.It seems that 2021 is already ushering in its own set of troubles as well. However, we can cling to this promise and all its hope: our Father has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms through Christ. Those benefits cannot be removed.

Let us go to the throne of grace and find the unending supply of spiritual blessings we need for this day and every day. If we are sinful, let us find mercy; if we are sorrowful, let us find comfort; if we are weak, let us find strength; if we are lonely, let us find friendship; if we are poor, let us find the riches of Christ. His blessings are immeasurable, unceasing, essential for life, and they are waiting for you. Now that’s sweeter than the sweetest of candy.