God is in Control || Ephesians 1:18 || Manna for the Mind #131

Welcome to Day 131 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Today’s passage is Ephesians 1:18. We discuss the confidence and hope God instills in us.

Ephesians 1:18

AMP	NLT	VOICE
18 And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which His glorious inheritance in the saints (God’s people),	18 I pray that your hearts will flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called – his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.	18 Open the eyes of their hearts, and let the light of Your truth flood in. Shine Your light on the hope You are calling them to embrace. Reveal to them the glorious riches You are preparing as their inheritance.

Paul wants the hearts of all believers to be flooded with light. We must have clear minds and open hearts to grasp the truth about our hope. Hope in Jesus means more than a vague assurance about a good future; it means being certain that God will do what he promises. Our role is to trust and expect that God will fulfill those promises and wait for Jesus’s arrival.

What are God’s promises? To give us strength and rest. To answer our prayers and never leave us. To protect us and free us from sin. To have life everlasting. We can skew what these promises look like with how we understand the Bible’s teachings, but these promises are granted to all who believe in him. To have the strength and rest to do the work he’s called us to do for the strength of his kingdom and the betterment of those around us. Trust that God listens to us with all the good and bad things we come to him with, and know that he will never leave us with whatever we bring. We need to know that whatever evil we face in our lives, God will protect us from it and give us ways to avoid dealing with the temptations we face as well. All this leads to us being able to live life eternally with him, accept him as our Lord and Savior, and live a life that represents him in a morally right and justifiable way.

Ephesians 1:11

AMP	NLT	VOICE
11 In Him also we received an inheritance [a destiny – we were claimed by God as His own], having been predestined (chosen, appointed beforehand) according to the purpose of Him who works everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His will.	11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.	11 we stand to inherit even more. As His heirs, we are predestined to play a key role in His unfolding purpose that is energizing everything to conform to His will.

God has a purpose and a plan. The plan is to bring salvation to the entire world. God is the ultimate creator, meaning he is in charge. When life feels chaotic, rest in this: Jesus is Lord, and God is in control. God’s purpose to save you cannot be thwarted, no matter what evil comes your way.

Salvation means having a gifted rescue plan from the temptations of sin. God promises that to us when we become Christians. We’ll face all kinds of temptations that will lead us to talk, think, and act in a way opposite to God’s teachings. These ways may feel harmless or so insignificant that we’d question why they matter to God. Yet this same line of reasoning is also the Holy Spirit speaking to us to say it’s not harmless and would matter.

I leave you with this prayer. It’s a breathing prayer, meaning you’ll repeat one phrase when you breathe in and another when you breathe out.

BREATHE IN:               Jesus is Lord

BREATHE OUT:           God is in control.