Ephesians 1 : 15 - 21, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. NKJV
Welcome to a new day to live out the plan of God for your life and to glorify your Lord. However, we don't always know what His plan is. Even so, not knowing is a good thing because it keeps us looking to God for wisdom and direction, especially when we encounter a trial or setback that wasn't expected. Have you had "the unexpected" happen in your life recently? Have you been blind-sided by a situation that has caused you to lose sight of the path for your life? If this describes where you are in your walk with Christ, then Paul has given us an answer in today's scripture that will assist us when we go through dark seasons and blinding tragedies in life. Nevertheless, first, let's lay some foundation so that you will have a better understanding of it.
If you read Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve partook of the tree of knowledge, you will discover that their eyes were opened, and they became self-conscious. Just as the serpent had predicted, they had gained an understanding of good-and-evil. I have always found this portion, "the eyes of them both were opened," of scripture interesting, since they could already see. Consequently, we know that Moses was alluding to the eyes of their understanding and not their physical sight. Once man had partaken of sin, we became aware of a fallen world, and in exchange, we lost God-consciousness, in the way that Adam and Eve had only known.
This brings us to the scripture for today's devotion found in Ephesians 1. When we rejected sin and believed on Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, our heavenly Father gave us the Holy Spirit. Through Him, we have the ability once again to know God and learn about His ways and to see God without the use or benefit of our physical, human eyes for sight. Besides our eyesight, we also have what Paul described as "eyes of our understanding." When Adam and Eve sinned, mankind lost the understanding that allowed us to see or perceive God and to trust in Him even though He is invisible to the human eye.
You may be asking, "Why is this information important to me as a Christian?" As you face dark seasons in your life, where it seems as though the Light of God's presence has been extinguished, or you are blind-sided by tragedy, you don't have to allow yourself to feel isolated, lonely, or abandoned by God anymore. Since becoming a child of God and receiving the Holy Spirit, you now have someone who will remain with you through every season of your life. He will be there when this world goes "dark and cold" to reassure and comfort you.
It is during the trying times of life that humans can lose all hope. However, once we accept Christ and receive the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit gives us enlightenment. He does this so that we will have hope in our heart to stand, when it appears that in the natural, physical realm, there is no hope to be found. We must, at that moment, decide to either look to God or look at our circumstances. If we will choose to take our eyes off what is seen and begin to trust in the unseen God, who dwells within us, then He can begin to enlighten our understanding and lead us on in our walk of faith. Through the truths that God has given, we all can learn to lean more on the God of hope during times of isolation and heartache. We can know that we have a hope and a future, even when it seems as though all hope is gone. Allow the Lord to enlighten your understanding and to lead you into greener pastures and a greater hope in Christ. Remember, this world is not our final destination. We're just passing through on our way to an eternal reward in Christ.
Seeing the Invisible through Eyes of Faith,
Pastor Asa
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