Believers, we have so much to be thankful for. Our Salvation is not fire insurance. In fact it ensures we will go through fires on this present Earth. But it also holds the promise of so much more. Paul told the faithful at Ephesus how he prayed for them and how he wanted them to know and experience what the hope of Jesus Christ entails. It encompasses more blessings than any of us can express. As difficult as the hard times get, the blessings make them easier.
Verse 17-18 reads,
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”
First of all I love when God is represented triunally in a passage. Here is such a case, God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit are in one verse. Because we have Jesus Christ as our Lord we can ask for the Spirit to reveal God to us through wisdom and knowledge. We have the privilege of getting to know God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He reveals Himself to us and the more we seek and pursue Him, the more He will reveal Himself to us.
The Spirit also reveals to us the hope He gives us. Our hope is vast. It is more than Heaven. It is not about walking streets of gold and eating from an endless buffet. It is about completion, perfection, and being with God face to face and knowing Him fully, absolutely, and wholly. Our inheritance is for eternity and it is also for the here and now.
We will be perfected one day soon but we were made righteous already. Every sin was forgiven. Every transgression was wiped out. We may still sin, and we may still fight to overcome our worldliness every single day, but the fact is that our completion has already been achieved. We got credit for Jesus’ perfection already. That gives us all the more reason to continue endeavoring to know God more, to keep striving toward working toward righteousness, and to persist in our transformation through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Verses 19-23 read,
“and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. “
In other words, that same power that raised Christ from the dead and gave Him authority over everything is at work in you. That same capacity and force transformed you from death to life, from errant to righteous. You can’t ever make yourself good enough, but The Holy Spirit, God Himself is at work in you. In one moment He made you blameless and now He is changing you, giving you the ultimate makeover and each day He is making you more like Jesus.
The trials we experience, the suffering we face, and the pain we endure all help shape us. God is our potter, we are His vessel. We can actually take joy in the ordeals because we have God with us and in us and because we know that He is using those difficulties to sculpt and mold us for His glory. Romans 5:1-5 describes it like this,
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
So thank God through your tears. Appreciate the tribulations. Remember your hope, not just for eternity but now, right where you are. Ask God to reveal Himself to you through the pain. Take the opportunity to get to know Him deeper. Dioko Agape.