Weekly Overview:
God’s goodness over our lives far exceeds anything we’ve experienced. We’ve only yet splashed around in the shallows of God’s deep love and mercy. In order to dive deeper into the fullness of life available to us, we must learn how to posture our hearts. May your relationship with God be enriched this week as you position yourself to receive all your loving heavenly Father has to give.
Scripture:“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1:18
Devotional:
In order to go deeper in God, we must allow him to open the eyes of our hearts to see him as he truly is. So often we settle in our relationship with him for that which can only be seen with our physical eyes. We settle for community apart from unity in the Spirit, God’s word apart from revelation from the Spirit, and look to “open” or “closed” doors as our guide rather than making space to ask for the Holy Spirit’s leadership. It’s time for us as the body of Christ to truly live in the fullness of relationship afforded to us by his sacrifice. It’s for this reason, in Ephesians 1:16-19, Paul told the Church in Ephesus,
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.
We need the “eyes of our hearts” to be enlightened today. We need the Holy Spirit to come and do a mighty work that we might no longer live only for that which is seen, but by faith pursue the unseen. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” God longs for us to pursue the deeper things of him in faith. He longs for us to grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit and learn to live life with his presence, leadership, voice, and love as the foundation for everything we do.
To live only by the things we can physically see is to live only for that which is temporal and fleeting. Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.” God has worthwhile work in store for us. He has a plan to bring heaven to earth through our lives every day. But in order to make an impact on eternity we must be able to see and know the heart of God. We must become increasingly aware of how God feels and what he wants to do moment-by-moment.
Growing in our relationship with the Holy Spirit is the foundation of seeking the deeper things of God. Learning to live by and with him is the only way to advance his kingdom. Take time in guided prayer today to ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Ask him to guide you into a deeper and more connected relationship with him. And choose today to pursue a life marked by deep connection with your heavenly Father and powerful works of his Spirit.
Guided Prayer:
1. Ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Meditate on Scripture and take time to rest in his presence.
“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” Ephesians 1:18
“Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17
“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both.” Proverbs 20:12
2. Where have you been doing life apart from connectivity to the Spirit? Where have you been living temporally instead of for eternity?
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you live connected to him today.
“Be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18
“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own” 1 Corinthians 6:19
Jesus promised us in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” When we seek all the blessings God has to give such as being loved, being known, being provided for, and being filled with the Spirit, we can know that we will find what we seek. The door to going deeper in God will always be opened whenever we come to it and knock. God will never withhold himself from us when we purely desire more of him. Have faith today in the goodness of your heavenly Father and pursue the deeper things of him that you might live in greater union with him today.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 1
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