It is God’s good pleasure to let us enter the promised Kingdom – Luke 12:32
We don’t need to worry – it gives God great happiness to give us the Kingdom that he has promised.
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32
There are some wonderful reassuring words in Luke 12 and verse 32. We are told by Jesus to have no fear at the current time and also about the future. It is God’s pleasure to let us enter the kingdom he has promised in the future. We are not to worry about our life – what we will eat or what we are to wear. God will ensure we have these things. Do not worry about material possessions but rather focus on the kingdom. As Jesus says: “seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you” (Luke 12:31). If we do this then it will be the good pleasure of God to give you the kingdom.
What is the kingdom?
In the future, Jesus Christ will return to the earth (from Heaven) and he will be king over all the earth. This kingdom has been promised from the very beginning.
The king will put down all oppression and evil and will bring a blessing on all nations. His kingdom will over throw all others. Jerusalem will become known as the city of Truth. All nations will be gathered together under one rule and one religion.
Seek first the kingdom of God
Jesus spoke to many people in the region of the Sea of Galilee and this speech is known as the Beatitudes. During the speech he sets before us the main objective for which we follow him:
seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, Matthew 6:33
Therefore, Jesus wanted us, as a priority, to seek the kingdom of God which will be set up in the future. To help us be more confident in our seeking of this kingdom he says:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 6: 7-8
We are being taught here that if we do our part, with our confidence in God alone, that we shall be satisfied with the final outcome.
The ups and downs of life
This process of coming only to God had been taught back in the days of the Old Testament to the people of Israel:
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3
Manna was a substance which was the Israelites chief food during their 40 years travel through the wilderness. It is described in the Bible as ”bread from heaven”.
God’s people are not exempt from the ordinary “up and downs” of life. As a result, the people hunger and thirst but then we are told that God feeds them. Israel was to go out and seek the manna, but according to strict rules. They were to gather it in the morning of six days, enough to feed them but not too much (in greed). Only on the sixth day would more than one day’s supply be gathered. This was to feed them on the seventh day which was the Sabbath.
The almighty God also feeds the birds of the air. Jesus said:

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26
The Almighty feeds the birds but He does not put the food into their nest—they must go out and forage, i.e. seek for it. When they go out seeking their daily food they are confident of finding it—God has never failed them.
“It is your Father’s good pleasure”
King Solomon was famous in the regions he lived in. He was known for riches and glory in material things and his wisdom concerning the name of the Lord. A queen came from the far land of Sheba to visit him because she wanted to see for herself how King Solomon lived:
However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. 1 Kings 10:7
And yet when Solomon’s court dyers (clothiers) tried their best to duplicate the colours and beauty of the lilies of the field, they could not. So, for all that he had and could do, he could not copy what was out in nature created by God:
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:28-29
We are being taught about our limitations. Once we recognise that, we can then accept out Lord’s instruction:
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6: 31-33
Like Israel in the wilderness, we must do our part according to God’s law. Remember those words we just read in Deuteronomy chapter 8 – “man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. Like the birds in the air, we go forth to seek, but with a confidence in the unfailing provisions from above. The birds seek food and a place to nest….we seek a future kingdom promised to each one of us if we only come to God.
We shall ask, seek, and knock, knowing that God as the all wise Father will provide. As further encouragement, Jesus also said the words we are considering in this article: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”.
Sometimes life can be difficult
We are taught that our Father chastens those He loves:
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Hebrews 12:5-7
Now this is not pointless retribution. The Father is not a vindictive tyrant who rewards every misdeed with mindless punishment. The chastening which the Father extends to His children is designed with an end in view. Jesus told us what that end is in the main verse we are considering:
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32
God’s chastening is directed to this end, but only profits those who respond, as did Jesus, and who grow in grace.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
The “peaceable fruit of righteousness” is everlasting life. Our forerunner has shown us the way. It will be His Father’s good pleasure to then allow us to enter the kingdom he has promised from the very beginning.