Ephesians 1:18-19

How would we prepare to be a people who are ready for what is ahead?

In last week’s Pastor’s Heart, we were encouraged as a church in the face of global tragedy and war not to be desensitised, disengaged or in despair. Though we are grateful by God’s grace to live in peace and security, we are also asking by the same grace, that we would have deep compassion for those who are suffering, and that we would continue to grow to be a people of prayer, who truly know our God and are ready as and when hard times come.
How would we prepare to be a people who are ready for what is ahead?

“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 His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Eph 1:18-19)

The apostle Paul prays in his letter to the Ephesians “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 His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Eph 1:18-19) Here Paul mentioned 4 things that may help us today as believers.
1) We Need To Pray That Our Spiritual Eyes Are Opened
The apostle Paul prays in the verse before this, “…the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Eph 1:17) As the world continues to experience shaking for what can be shaken, so that we may receive a Kingdom that is unshakable (Heb 12:26-28), what we need is more than news can tell us.
Media shows us daily the depth of human sin and depravity in these last days (2 Tim 3:1-5), be it unrestrained ego, appetites and violence. Yet no one has any solution to our global woes. What is truly missing is Godly wisdom and revelation, which helps us know God, and not just who we should blame for our troubles. Can we pray for us to know God, and for God to be revealed on the earth is this time?
2) We Need To Know The Hope To Which He Has Called Us
The hope (wish) we have in Christ is not just for a comfortable, blessed pain-free life. It is much more robust than that, as generations of believers have experienced through the worst persecutions imaginable. Great trouble has always produced great unshakeable hope in Christ, and every believer needs to know this eternal strong hope is what we are called to. May we know and hold on to this Hope even before troubles come, and put our Faith in our God.
3) We Need To Know The Riches Of Our Glorious Inheritance In Him And His People
More than worldly possessions, security or achievement, we already have a glorious and eternal inheritance in Christ, as promised by the deposit of the Holy Spirit in us (Eph 1:13-14). While that fact may not be clear in our daily lives, in extreme times, it can be the source of great comfort. What we have also received in and through Christ is in His holy people, and we get to experience that every week in our worship and fellowship together. May we know the riches we have in God, and His people!
4) We Need To Know His Incomparably Great Power For Us
The same power that raised Christ from the dead is working for us (v.19-20), and this power is “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (v.21) The power that we have in Christ is greater than sickness, armies, governments, causes and religions, of things both ancient and future, and in places near and far. This power fills us, His body and His church.
These are times not for fear and anxiety, but greater trust in God who is over all and fills everything in every way (v.23) May we have confidence today as we continue to pray, that His great power is at work, and His Kingdom is still advancing powerfully in the midst of all human history.
Would you consider praying with someone today to affirm these truths, and to intercede for the trouble on earth, that Christ be revealed?