The Hope of His Calling

I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength. (EPHESIANS 1:18–19 HCSB)

When we’re in a season of trouble, there’s usually a time of waiting on God to come through with answers to our pleas. And during that time, it’s normal to continually look at and focus on damage we or someone else has caused. Or sometimes there’s destruction caused by the forces of nature and it’s impossible not to see brokenness and loss all around. It’s so difficult to hold on to hope that there is a bright future on the other side of the mountain of mess.

Paul understood the temptation to focus on a problem more than the provision of God during those times. He was in prison in Rome and had nothing to look at but his chains and the cell where he sat. It wasn’t a hopeful situation for him, yet he didn’t let his external circumstances affect the internal reality and truth that the hope of God and His immeasurably great power outshine any clouds of darkness that try to linger. It was during this time that, instead of giving in to despair, he prayed for and wrote to believers in the church in Ephesus who were facing their own challenges as new Christians. He wanted to instill the importance of holding on to the hope they were all promised through Christ.

The greatest gift we have to get through any problem is the hope of God’s calling on our lives, but we have to see it and believe it in our hearts and minds for it to have any effect. His hope is not something to view from a distance, it’s ours to hold and to share in the overflow of the abundance He gives.

Paul wrote this prayer to encourage the believers in his day; God wrote this prayer for each of us today to claim for ourselves until we are in eternal glory with Him. This is possible because His hope never dies—it will continually shine for as long as we need it to. Let this prayer not be shared in vain. Let us all be witnesses of His grace that keep His hope light burning, no matter what we face.

Father,

There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t need and want the hope that You give. Help me to see the light of Your hope and to live it out daily in the calling You have on my life.

In Your gracious name I pray. Amen.

This is an excerpt from God’s Truth for Troubled Times by Lisa Stilwell - a devotional book now available from DaySpring publishing. Learn more about this book, or shop other books & devotionals from DaySpring.