Your God Has Gone Before You

We had wanted to visit this national park for years, and we finally made the trip out west to make that desire a reality. So, we flew in, rented a car, and started driving. As our car got closer to our destination and the geography peeking through the windows started to morph, there was no sign of a canyon, let alone a grand one. 

A little confused, we parked our car and walked toward the heliport, ready for our aerial tour of the Grand Canyon. I started mentally preparing myself for a long journey, especially given that I couldn’t see the destination I was headed to. 

You can imagine my surprise and terror when, mere seconds after taking off, the ground opened up, and we were in the Grand Canyon. And Grand it was. 

As we soared over the Colorado River and began our descent over 3,000 feet below, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the majesty of what I was experiencing. Then it struck me: when we parked our car in that lot just a few minutes prior, we already were where we were trying to go, but we didn’t have the discernment to realize we had already arrived.

What if you’re trying hard to get somewhere, accomplish something, or become someone you already are?

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:6 that God has “seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Paul doesn’t say that God is going to seat us. He doesn’t tell us to strive to find a seat. Paul is not using a metaphor. He is stating a fact that is a present reality for the believer.

You may have noticed that wherever you’re currently reading this article, you are not in “heavenly places.” So what is Paul talking about?

He’s describing the “already, not yet” of the Kingdom of God. That in Jesus we have been made alive, and we will be made alive. (Ephesians 2:5) In Jesus, we are sanctified but are not yet sanctified. (2 Corinthians 3:18) We’re currently raised with Christ (Colossians 3:1), but there’s coming a day when we shall be raised with Christ. (Revelation 20:6) All of these spiritual realities are ours already, but we aren’t experiencing the fullness of these realities presently. This may seem like a contradiction, but it’s more so a tension in which we get to exercise faith.

This boggles the mind because we experience the concept of time linearly. But our God is eternal. He sits outside of time. He holds time in the crevices of His palms. There is no time in human history that He does not currently exist in or is unaware of. God has never been in “after” (Revelation 1:18, Revelation 21:6). God has never experienced the concept of “before.” He simply is, which is bad grammar but good theology.

The question is, “How does this good orthodoxy become a lived orthopraxy?”

This theology changes your life when you start to operate in faith based on it being true. When you begin building your faith not only based on what God has already done in your past but also on what He has already done in your future.

Faith aligns our not-yet reality with God’s already reality.

1. Your seat is an endorsement of your position. 

Since you are already seated in Christ, your faith should cause you to live according to that reality. If you’re already seated in Christ, you don’t have to beg God to move on your behalf. 

I once went to see a mentor who I knew to be well off financially, but when invited over to his home, I was mesmerized by his level of wealth. In the same way, we may think we understand the idea of God being rich in mercy, but if you were to sneak into the home of the wealthiest person on earth, it would not compare to the riches of His mercy (Ephesians 2:4). We would be left awestruck.

You didn’t sneak into the Kingdom. The blood of Jesus that went before you has paid the price for your seat.

2. If you’re already seated in Christ, you’re not a victim; you’re a victor. 

Your seat implies victory! I’m not saying that in the not yet, there isn’t pain or the aftermath of trauma or disappointment to sort through, but there is also an assignment on your life already. You don’t have to wait to fulfill your purpose. According to Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” What people have done to you is not more powerful than what Jesus has done for you. God has already gone before you to secure your victory.

3. If you’re already seated in Christ, you don’t have to compare.

You are seated in Christ. You’re not seated in yourself or your neighbor, only your savior. So there’s no need to compare your journey to others because, for those of us who’ve put our faith in Jesus, we’ve all been given a seat. No one has a leg up or down because the Cross leveled the playing field. Your God has gone before you to prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies. That should be your focus, not someone else’s table.

4. If you’re already seated in Christ, you don’t have to worry about the future. 

Why? Because Christ is still seated. 

Once, on a flight home from Seattle, we started to experience really bad turbulence. But instead of panicking, I looked at the flight attendant down the aisle, who was incredibly calm. If she wasn’t worried, I wasn’t going to be worried. If she stayed seated, I was going to stay seated. I know life may look confusing, but your God has gone before you and is already seated so you can be, too.

This is what faith is. It’s saying God, I trust you because you’ve gone before me. I trust you because wherever I’m trying to go in this life, you’re already there.

This isn’t the prosperity Gospel or the poverty Gospel; this is the already Gospel. The gap between where you are and where you wish you were is where you activate faith in the God already there. And because He’s already there, you’re already there because you are in Him. 

Rest. You’ve made it to the Grand Canyon of wonder, but it can only be traversed by stepping in faith. Faith that your God has gone before you.

PRAYER

God, I worship you because you’re already there. You’re already seated on the throne of eternity. You’re already securing my future. You’re already redeeming my past. You’re already interceding for me at the right hand of the Father. You’re already building your church. You’re already sovereign over my story. You’re already vanquishing Hell, and its schemes. You’re already my healing. You’re already my Sabbath. You’re already my portion. You’re already my comfort. You’re already my joy. You’re already my victory. Amen.