February 28 I Monday

Numbers 17-19

Mark 6:30-56

“I pray 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.”  —Ephesians 1:18-19

Though we may have read Paul’s prayers in Ephesians, we need to understand the full significance of what he is asking God to take place in our lives. Of utmost importance in the above passage is Paul praying for the agenda of Jesus Christ in our lives.

      Paul first talks about “knowing the hope to which Christ has called us.” Understanding hope biblically is to know that it looks towards the future and is what we place our confidence in. It is orienting our lives around the fact that this life on earth is not all there is. The problem is we can become so preoccupied with the here and now that we are burdened even with the little things. The Christian life is living in the “here and now” with heaven in mind, placing our hope in God for things not yet experienced, but that will be.

      Paul prays that we may know “the riches of Christ’s glorious inheritance in the saints.” Not only do we have an inheritance in Christ, which is Christ Himself and the unlimited resources we have in Him, but Christ has an inheritance in us. He now has another person He can work through on earth, and He calls His inheritance in us glorious!

      There is also “Christ’s incomparably great power for us who believe.” This involves both the resurrection power and reigning power of Christ. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, and having been resurrected from the dead, Christ has defeated death. This means whatever threatens to defeat us has already been defeated in Christ. There are not three or four more enemies still lurking around. They have all been put under the feet of Jesus, and we live with a disposition of heart that trusts Jesus with anything that threatens us.

      Christ’s reigning power is not only over our lives, but God has exalted Him to a position above all rule, authority, dominion and power. Though we live in a fallen world where evil is active, there is going to come a day when evil will be destroyed. As Christians, we are secure, not in the fact that we are spared hardship and suffering, but in Jesus Christ; we are under an authority that will one day banish all that is evil and vindicate all that is right.

      The more we know Christ, the more we know the resources we have in Him. “For us who believe,” Paul says. Instead of asking for more of this or that, may we be thankful to God for His presence and sufficiency as every need of our hearts is met in Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to live every day with an active, conscious awareness of 
Your presence 
and sufficiency 
in my life. Thank 
You, Lord.