No Matter The Storm You’re In, God’s In Control – Stay Faithful!
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(18) 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, (19) and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength (20) he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.’ (Ephesians 1:18-20)
Paul, in writing his letter to the church of Ephesus, provides to the predominantly Gentile (non-Jewish) congregation of the church a set of instructions for them to follow. to live like Christ, according to the Gospel. The first chapter, though, Paul first lifts up Jesus and provides His divine attributes and showers Jesus in the Glory that Jesus righteously deserves, and then provide prayers for the Ephesians, with the focus on the Ephesians to gain more knowledge and wisdom in Jesus and to grow closer to Him.
The Ephesians were what we would consider ‘integrated’; it was a Greek city but was the capital of Asia Minor for the Romans at the time of Paul. It was a coastal city that had been in the hands of Persians, Spartans then Athenians (both Greeks), and the Romans (and later the Turks as it is in Turkey today) so it had seen much ‘turnover’ and changes, and it likely had crime and vice being a hub of commerce. The Ephesians, being in what could have been the third-most important city of the Roman Empire (Rome and Constantinople (now Istanbul) would be the top two), likely did not have an ‘open’ or safe environment to worship, even though the Ephesian church appeared to thrive into the middle of the first millennium.
The Ephesians Paul wrote to were Faithful, but likely were skeptical due to the environment around them. Their ‘worldview’ was one of being ruled by Rome, having a mix of Roman, Greek, and other foreign gods competing for their worship. The Roman view of Christianity was not favorable, and what would God provide to the Ephesians to show them ‘who’s boss’? Paul’s prayer is one for the Ephesian fellowship to open up and see the Glory of God, the Hope He provides, and the Joy that come from having that Hope.
The Ephesians, in essence, were given the ‘pep talk’; if they open their heart to Jesus, they would then be provided the Hope of Christ and His Joy, even in the midst of such turmoil. For them to know Jesus and have that Hope would free the Ephesians from many of the burdens of their life. They would still encounter those burdens but the weight would be on Jesus, not them. Their Joy would radiate and be seen by others, and thus the church would grow and flourish for almost 400 years after Paul’s letter to them.
Our storms may not be comparable to the Ephesians; some are small (perhaps a leaky faucet or squeaky brakes), some are big (having health issues), some pretty much the same as they had back then (social, political, economic turmoil). But if you focus above and beyond the storms, you will find, as Paul did, and the Ephesians likely did (at least until the falling away of the Ephesian church from Jesus as described in Revelation 2:1-7 – a storm of their own making), the Peace and Joy that comes with Jesus, and working with Him and for Him. Blue skies are always above the dark clouds!
