Search
Search

Do You Really Know His Incomparably Great Power?

LISTEN NOW!

February 2, 2021

Ephesians 1:17-19 (NIV)

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. 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, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

CONSIDER THIS

There is so much here it will be impossible to unpack it all—ever. Yet if I’m honest, most times I read right past it all at lightening speed; maybe picking up every third word or phrase. People of God—this text is loaded with nuclear power. Paul takes four verses (a full 90 words in English) to describe and detail the nature of “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” 

Let’s take a labrynth paced walk through these 90 words. If it takes less than 90 seconds you are going too fast. I want you to read these words aloud. Turn on the stopwatch on your phone if that’s what it takes to slow you down.

That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Now, for good measure, do it again. I’m serious. This is the Word of God. The late great Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, said when it comes to Scripture we must learn to cover less ground more slowly. 

Now this question: Do you “know” and experience this kind of power in your life? Scale it for us (1-10, 10 is greatest). I think I would rate myself a 4 on a good day. The difference between our number and 10 is our level of what we call “holy discontent.” And let’s be clear. This is not a gap you can close. Only Jesus can close the gap, and he wills to do so—but it will require everything we’ve got simply to get to the place where he can do it. This is not about waking up earlier and trying harder to do better. It’s about rising from the dead. It doesn’t take “his incomparably great power” to try harder. You already have that in spades, and that must go. This is about the wholesale abandonment of our very lives to Jesus—complete and utter surrender—not as a one time thing but a glorious way of life.

It means we have a lot of unlearning and relearning and repenting and believing and reframing and renewing ahead of us (even though there is likely a lot of that behind us too).

The truth is—most people will not do it. Here’s what I am learning about you, though. You will. 

THE PRAYER

Almighty God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—my Lord Jesus Christ, I am convicted that the more I know you, the greater my realization that I hardly know you at all. You are now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. You are far above all all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the age to come. All things are under your authority and you are appointed as head over everything for the church, which is your body. Help me to fathom this more and more, Lord Jesus; that you want to fill me and to fill us with all the fullness of God. I don’t want to go on in a half asleep way of faith. I want all that you have for me. In Jesus name, Amen. 

THE QUESTION

Did you do the scaling exercise? [Do you “know” and experience this kind of power in your life? Scale it for us (1-10, 10 is greatest).] Are you grappling with this kind of challenge? Are you willing to grapple with it? Are you willing to be made willing to grapple with it? This is the real stuff, you know. 

P.S.

Three invitations here: 1. Reserve your complimentary ticket for A Night with New Room: Ash Wednesday. 2. Check out the 2021 Awakening Calendar. 3. Grab a songbook for Soundtrack

For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com

Share today's Wake-Up Call!

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

WHAT IS THIS? Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus that transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.

Comments and Discussion

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *