“…and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.”
Eph. 1:19-20
There have been times in my Christian life where I’ve struggled with certain sins, and found myself in deep despair. After fighting and wrestling with my own sin, and finding myself unable to conquer temptation, I have sometimes begun to doubt if God was with me, and if He had power to change me.
I don’t think this struggle is uncommon.
Paul himself wrote in Romans 7:25 - “Oh wretched man that I am! Who will free me from the power of this death?”
Sin seems so incredibly powerful, doesn’t it? The temptations that course through us produce a nearly-constant potential to stumble in a wide variety of ways.
Perhaps you find yourself struggling with anxiety. You are anxious about a host of different concerns. And, having experienced the pain of anxiety already, you find yourself anxious about being anxious.
Perhaps lust is a dangerous arena for your heart. You find yourself constantly confronted by the unrighteousness of the world. The offer of evil pleasures seems ubiquitous, and your heart is often pulled in that direction. No matter how much you hate the consequences, you find yourself craving again and again.
Or, perhaps the appeal of the world—the craving of your flesh—calls out to you like a siren song. The allure of newer and better ‘stuff’. The appeal of vacations, and pictures of mountains or white sandy beaches. You find yourself day-dreaming, filled with discontentment of your circumstance, knowing all the while that your cravings are leading you into sorrow.
My question is, “Is there power enough to change me?”
Does God have what it takes to change my evil heart? Does He have the power of transform my desires? Can He actually make me more like Jesus, and less like the ‘old’ me?
Paul’s unequivocal answer is yes. There is plenty of power in God for all the needs your heart has, and that power is yours by faith.
In fact, in Eph 1:19-20, Paul explains his desire that all Christians know the ‘surpassing greatness of God’s power’, and particularly, the ‘working of the strength of His might’ that is ours through Him.
And, to show the immense power of God, Paul points to two different events—the resurrection, and the ascension. Why these two?
The resurrection is the pronouncement of God’s victory over sin and death. Jesus is alive, and our sin is dead. That power that conquered sin once and for all is the very power that works in you! Is there any power greater than the power to restore life? And the resurrection power of Christ belongs to every single child of God, right now!
The ascension points to the power of God over all circumstances that you might face. There is nothing that is outside the absolute sovereign control of the King who sits on the throne. Jesus has taken His seat at the right hand of the majesty of God the Father, and everything that is coming into your life—temptation or suffering—has come from His hand.
And so - is there power enough for you to change? The power that raised Christ from the dead, and the power that gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth is yours, right now, in Him.
Do you believe that? If you do, you have all the power you need!
