God provides great blessings for His children. As we journey through life, we may have a tendency to take His blessings for granted. The Apostle Paul realized this propensity and prayed for the church at Ephesus to realize their spiritual blessings in Christ:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will 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 surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might (Ephesians 1:18-19)

Are you experiencing the hope of His calling? A called one is a follower of Jesus. Our primary calling is to Someone (God) rather than to something. Our secondary calling is to our vocation.

You may be thinking “I don’t see how God could use me.” You may feel fearful – so was Gideon and God used him as a valiant warrior. You may think you’ve messed up – Paul described himself as the least of all of God’s people. You may believe you’re too inexperienced – David was the youngest in his family and wasn’t even considered for leadership. You may believe that you’re too old – Moses was 80 years old when God called him to lead the Exodus.

You also have a spiritual inheritance. What comes to your mind when you think of an inheritance? Your motto may be, “Where there’s a will, I want to be in one.” God has something better than riches in mind:

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)

If you’re not sure of your riches in Christ, you’ll tend to look for them elsewhere – material possessions, popularity, or performance.

When you realize your spiritual inheritance, you’ll demonstrate God’s power in your life – this is God’s resurrection power. This power is the ability to choose that which is right – the ability to say no to sin, self, and satan; and yes to God. Solomon gave us a picture of this power:

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city. (Proverbs 16:32)

We must realize the necessity of having the eyes of our heart enlightened. The prophet Elisha prayed this prayer for his servant when they were surrounded by a hostile enemy:

And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)

When the eyes of your heart have been enlightened, then you will see the invisible, hear the inaudible, and do the impossible!

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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