In this passage we hear Paul writing to the church in Ephesus, a body of believers belonging to the family of God. You also belong in the family of God, there is a place for you. You are an heir to all God has got for you. We sometimes question whether what God has for us is really for us. Would God really fulfill all His promises to you and me?

‘’God will do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us’’

‘’The power that is at work within us’’…What is leading or fueling you? Your strength or that of someone else? Whose voice are you listening to? Your own nature or another’s beliefs? Maybe someone else’s authority? If it is not the Holy Spirit that is the power at work in you, then you risk missing out on all the riches of God, and the magnificent glory of His presence. To have a power at work in us that is not of God, that is not His Holy Spirit, is to put ourselves in a dangerous position, leading us into sin.

Paul writes of the things he wants for the church in Ephesus ‘’that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love’’…

Faith that is rooted and grounded in love is something we all need, not just for now but until the time comes where we pass over into the eternal. We must ensure that the only voice we listen to and are led by, is that of God, His Holy Spirit as the power in us, which needs to continue through from the day of salvation until we pass. What voice are you listening to?

There are many voices in this world that you can choose to follow and live by. Are you living to the sins at work in your life, or are you living according to the Holy Spirit? Sometimes we have the power of our nature at work in us. Jealousy, pride, deceit or a hard heart to name a few, and these are things that we need to bring to God, time and time again, asking for our nature at work to be taken so that the power at work in us is the Holy Spirit. It is easy to get side-tracked with all that comes with daily life. No matter how long you have been a Christian, from time to time it is important to examine ourselves, to ask what is the power at work in me?

What can we do if we examine ourselves and find that something is not right? We can find direction in the book of Joel.

Joel 2: 1

‘’ 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!’’

Joel 2: 12-13

12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
13 So rend your heart, and not your garments;’’

We can start by sounding the alarm, deciding to do something about it and seeking change. We can’t do it in our own strength. We can’t do it with the power of our own strength at work. When we identify that something is not right, we are to sound the alarm, seek change and turn to God. Our inner man is strengthened by the Holy Spirit, becoming the power at work in us, allowing us to receive the riches of His glory and to know the love of Christ in its fullest.