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.
The life of a Jesus-follower is a life of growth and change. Every moment we are making choices and changing as a result of those choices. God wants us to enter into His change process. It begins the moment we trust Jesus in salvation and continues to the present moment. Two specific areas are part of this continual process. The first is deals with our ability to tune in to God’s will for our lives. Since we were dead and blind prior to our trusting Jesus, we need the spiritual part of us turned on, tuned in to what God is doing. Paul says the eyes of our heart get enlightened. Our heart is able to see. But the moment of salvation does not bring complete vision of what God is doing. That is a process as we yield again and again, as we are obedient. The more we obey, the more we see. The second area is in the area of knowledge. This makes sense. The more we are growing in our intimate, personal knowledge of God, the more our knowledge base grows. Three areas are mentioned here: hope, inheritance and power. The first two deal with getting us to know the new position we have because of what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. The third, the power, is what will get us to the first two. The hope to which we are called embodies everything that flows out of God’s presence into our lives. It includes eternity in heaven with God, but began the moment we believed in Jesus, so it includes the fullness of life here on earth that results from the life of God working in and through us in the present moment. The riches encompass every blessing that God is and wants to put in our lives. Remember these are God’s riches, not temporary things or wealth. This is wealth that will last through eternity, deposits in God’s bank of God’s currency. And the power is what enables us to yield and obey in the present moment to the listen to the voice of God and grow in our knowledge all leading toward obedience. Imagine that, the same power that created the universe is available to help you make it through this life. No lack of power here! This is a process of ever-unfolding enlightenment, & ever growing knowledge all empowered with the power of God. Nothing can stand in the way of that kind of combination.
The Arnold Journey 