The Grasp of a Powerful Heart

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.”– Ephesians 1:18-19

Many of us want to be blessed, to experience the power of God in our lives, to see and feel that the Almighty hands are moving for our dreams to come to pass. Yet many of us don’t first examine the condition of our hearts—the inner most being of being a Christian. The Lord said in His words that if we let our hearts be enlightened, we will be able to see His power; that is, His riches, His plans, His will, His control, His blessings, His love. However, the enlightenment of our hearts is not something automatically given. It is something we desperately ask from God because our hearts firmly hold this desire of wanting more of Him, some sort of a reward for the things we worked for in harmony with what is being taught, which is “to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:24)

We can have the power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ if we have the power; the power that comes from Christ, that dwells in Christ, that is for Christ. And when the Word says “grasp”, it just doesn’t mean know, because we already know how great God’s love is; Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. Grasp, according to Merriam-Webster, means to take, hold, clasp or embrace. Grasp is to experience! If our hearts are truly for God and His works, the power of grasping the Lord’s love is in our lives. We are able to take a happy life, to hold a perfect job that we’ve been dreaming of, to clasp all the great things that God destined for us to own, and to embrace people with love. All these are God’s way of showing His favor, love and will. As His words put it, “Let His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So yes, if Christ dwells in our hearts, we can have a taste of heaven while still in this world. Question is, are we really prepared to grasp how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is? Are our hearts ready for these great things? Yes, we can be totally ready. All we need is to start with conditioning and strengthening our hearts so it can receive the power.

How will we know if our hearts are enlightened and in likeness of Jesus’? It is so if:

1.  Our hearts are not hardened. (Ephesians 4:18-19)

Hardening of the heart means being insensitive to the feelings of God that we don’t care anymore what God feels over our actions. Sin mostly takes part through our actions, and is the same thing that separates us from God and the life He planned for us. Asking ourselves “Will I cause pain to God if I do this?” won’t hurt. Don’t let even your smallest impure and greedy action steal your relationship with God. It will never be worth it.

2.  We are completely humble, gentle, patient and bearing love with one another. (Ephesians 4:2)

If we are proud and bragging of our possessions, will God allow and enable us to grasp the fullness of His blessings? Maybe a small portion of it. We know that God loves the humble. Using His blessings to bless His name back (giving back all the glory to Him, recognizing our talents and skills as God’s, and faithfully giving our tithes and offerings for the works of His kingdom) and to bless others, too, is an indication of a ready-to-grasp-God’s-great-great-love heart. Likewise, a powerful heart is something that is humble, gentle, patient and full of love. The power only roots from good things!

3.  Our hearts are clean. (Ephesians 4:29-32)

We can know if our hearts are clean if everything that comes from it is clean talk. What is in the heart comes out through the mouth. The desire to help others and benefit them is a sign of a healthy heart. We can never say that we have Jesus living in our hearts while we can’t stop saying ugly things to others and beautiful things to ourselves. That is super unhealthy.

4.  Our hearts are strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. (Ephesians 6:10-20)

A strong heart in the Lord is like a full-armored warrior of God. It does not only fight evil forces, but also hates what is evil. A full-armored heart has the heart to pray for God’s people—pastors, church workers, brothers and sisters—and the nation. It is selfless and compassionate, and at the same time, fearless to share the gospel.

5.  The eyes of our hearts are not only enlightened but lit up. (Ephesians 5:13)

An enlightened and lightened heart is something that exposes what is evil, but not in the way of condemning people. We can know if our hearts are lit up when we do not expose the evil works of the people around us so we get the spotlight and they the criticism, but inspire them with our lights and correct them so we can share the same lightness; as “everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” (Ephesians 5:13)

God’s heart is full of purity and righteousness. And once God sees His own heart shining through us, He will give us the power to grasp the benefits of His love and will just pour out blessings without second thoughts. Then we can truly say to ourselves, “Now this is how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is.” ♥