I was in high school when Alan Shepard was launched into space. It was too much for my mind to comprehend, maybe to even believe. The launch was shown on TV in one of our classrooms so that day I saw the rocket, space capsule on top, all launch equipment and watched the lift-off. I remember questioning if they were making all this up as a public relations stunt just to keep up with the Russians who had sent a man into space the month earlier. It obviously required a massive amount of power to lift one man in a small module that far into space.
Eight years and nearly three months later Neil Armstrong was launched by even more power into space and was able to walk on the moon. Even though by then I had accepted the fact men were being launched into space, walking on the moon stretched my mind even farther. I remember looking at the moon that night wondering if it were possible to see him and the disappointment that I could not.
I have recently been reflecting on Ephesians 1:16-21, which is Paul’s audacious prayer for believers, especially for those in Ephesus but also for those who would later read it in Laodicea as well as those of us today. The part that struck me most as I meditated on it this time was his prayer for our eyes to be enlightened so that we would know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, [especially the power] that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:19-20, ESV) Paul was ecstatically describing two specific expressions of God’s power, one when Jesus was raised from the dead and the other when he ascended into heaven.
I was reminded of how stunned I was with the amount of power it took to launch one man into space. Now here I am reflecting on how much controlled power it took to not only resurrect a dead man from the sealed tomb but to also cause him to ascend through space where He entered God’s heaven. Take a moment to meditate on that kind of power! That is far above any amount of power man can generate.
Paul was asking God to grant us a revelation, not only the immeasurable greatness of his power but also that it is toward us who believe! First, he is not talking about such power we can utilize at our discretion for any whimsical fantasy, but rather about God’s desire to direct the flow this divine power through us in order to work His purpose in our world today—both private and public world.
To be very honest, the more I meditated on that truth the more humbled and ashamed I felt. God is not only willing but desiring for each of us to allow this level of power to flow through us to fulfill His purposes in our world today. I’m ashamed to think of how many times, for whatever reason, I failed to release as much of this kind of divine power as He made available. It immediately motivated me to begin to pray for God to breathe this kind of power into the lives of those in in my world experiencing difficult situations. I have sensed a new level of faith rise up within me that the Holy Spirit is breathing this power into those who are blind to this truth or otherwise incapable of crying out to God for His deliverance or empowerment to become all He wants them to become.
I urge you to meditate on Paul’s words in this passage and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal its truth in your inner being. Who knows what God will do through you when that divine revelation breaks upon you? God certainly knows if ever there is a day the world needs to experience His divine power it is today.
What a good prayer for ourselves and one to pray for others. I have been contemplating this idea too that I have kept God too small in my life. Thanks for your thoughts!
Lisa