May the Eyes of Your Heart Be Enlightened
In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, he uttered the following prayer in chapter 1 verses18-21:
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."
In facing the difficulties of life our worldly philosophies today encourage us to discover the power that lies within each of us. Our bookstores are lined with self-help books by the score. But is this really the best way? If you desire change, and if you are using personal strength to get it done, you will never have enough courage and perseverance to accomplish lasting change. God wants us to know in our hearts and in our minds that we are completely dependent upon Him for everything. That includes the air that we breathe, the food that we eat, the material blessings we enjoy, the blessings of our family and loved ones, our physical health, our ability to earn a living, and most importantly, our salvation. Everything! Jesus said in John 15:4-5, "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing."
From Paul’s prayer we read above, we see that God’s power has been made available to all who seek after Him. It’s God's power that enlightens us, that gives us hope and gives us an inheritance with Christ (Ephesians 1:18-19). God's power, which is at our disposal for the asking, is realized as we see ourselves resurrected in Him (Ephesians 2:1, 6). Paul says that in Christ Jesus we who were dead in sin have been resurrected from spiritual death and have been raised up with Christ and we are seated with Him in heavenly realms with Christ. Now if Christ is raised up by God and is sitting in heavenly places far above all power and might, is Paul not saying that we who are in Christ (Galatians 3:27) are lifted up with Christ in those Heavenly realms as well? What does that say concerning the power God has given us in Christ? Isn’t this promise much better than any self-help book written by man?
May the Lord bless you and your family as He exalts you (James 4:10)! May the Lord bless you and your family!