Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17 I keep asking that 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.
18 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, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 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.
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
observation
In the recent presidential elections there seems to emerge a theme or catch phrase , it seems that the catch phrase of “family values” from the previous election was replaced this time with “change” and “hope.”
Hope is a big deal right now, there are plenty of people that could use a truck load of hope, there are people in despair all around us, maybe the economy has them gloomy or maybe they were already in darkness and despair from any number of other reasons.
Despair is not a normal condition for a child of God, even in the darkest of times we are to hold on to hope that comes from a higher source, this source of hope is much more powerful than the president and we have much more to hope for than just a rebate check.
Paul said that he wanted the church in Ephesus to know the hope that God offers, the hope that comes from the “rich and glorious inheritance” he has given to his people. Jesus said that he has prepared a kingdom for us since the beginning of time:
Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
What an awesome inheritance that we will receive when we get there.
And we have hope because Jesus raised from the dead so we can know that God will do the same for us. If God’s power wasn’t enough to raise Jesus from the dead then we wouldn’t have any reason to hope, if the grave was the end for him then surely it would be the end for us, but since he is at the right hand of the Father then we know we can believe the promises that Jesus made to those that believe in him.
Philippians 3:10 I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.
application
This life is hard and it is difficult sometimes to remember that this is just a temporary assignment. We know that we will rest with him for eternity if he is the Lord of our life.
prayer
Help us Lord to keep our eyes on you during the tough times. We cannot trust in any man to fix or problems, not the president and not even ourselves. Help me to rely on you each day.
