Spiritual Strength

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Ephesians 3:14-16 says, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” 

     In 1978, we left Alexandria, Virginia and headed down to Christiansburg.  We traveled down the interstate on fairly flat roads until we got within 50 miles of our destination.  Then, the landscape changed as we began to go up and down the mountains.  We were in awe at the beauty having lived previously in fairly flat areas of Virginia including Norfolk Washington, D.C. , and Alexandria, Virginia.  We now take it for granted as we have lived here for some time.  After living here for 5 years, we took off for Madrid, Spain and that was another experience that produced awe in our lives.  There are many sites and wonders in the world in which God has granted us to live that are exciting and wonderful to behold.  Such is the passage above however from the first three chapters of Ephesians.

     The firs three chapters are showing us our spiritual bank account and some of the many wonderful blessings that we have “in” Christ.  The passage above relates to us Paul’s prayer for the saints in Ephesus as well as us who are members of the church, the body of Christ.  Paul mentions the fact of his bowing the knees before God and that we would be strengthened with might by HisSpirit in the inner man.  Notice the words, “according to the riches of His glory.”  It is not, “out of” but “according to” that we have this strength.  When you get  something out of, it may just be a small amount, but when it is “according to” it means it is relative to the power and riches of Him Who is giving.  In this case, it is the Son of God, The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior Who is blessing us with this strength in our inner man.  What a prayer!  You can be awestruck over natural beauty but just think of the resources that you have available to you in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ,  This should be a great lifter of the spirits and countenance of every believer.  Unfortunately, we often become used to being a Christian and forget the power that we have and the strength that is at our disposal.  What do we need to fear when we have been so blessed as this?  Be encouraged today and remember, or recall the wonders of God.  Praise God for His working in our lives day by day, hour by hour.