Ephesians 3:17 – Walking in His Promises

 

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love.”

Ephesians 3:17 (NKJV)

 

Hi there! Welcome to the Promise Chocolates blog. I’m so excited to be a part of something that allows me to share my walk in faith while fostering community and positivity through the promises found in the Bible. I’d like to start off by introducing myself – my name is Madeline and I’m 25 years old. I’m currently living in Carlsbad, California and working in marketing for a beachy, subscription box startup. I met Amanda a couple years ago through my mom and have been a part of Promise Chocolates ever since. It started off as a way to practice my marketing skills while in college and here I am, still loving being a part of such a special, unique brand.

That’s enough about me… now let’s dive into what this verse means for us in our lives and how we can use it to help us Walk in His Promises.

The promise I have chosen to write about, Ephesians 3:17, states that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. My favorite part about this can be broken down into a pretty simple concept – when we work on our faith, whether that be spending time in our Bible, listening to worship music, or actively seeking out prayer… Christ begins to dwell in our hearts. It’s as simple as that! And when Christ dwells within us, we’re empowered to Walk in His Promises.

Which leads me to the second half of this verse “…Being rooted and grounded in love.”  To break things down… when we set our faith at the center of our lives, Christ lives within us which allows us to be rooted and grounded in love. And for me, when I’m rooted and grounded in love I find myself to be a much kinder, more patient, and overall pleasant person to be around. This love fills my soul and radiates to others (at least I hope!). 

One of my favorite books – Wait and See by Wendy Pope talks about how as humans, we love to be in control of our days, weeks, months – you name it. And I don’t know about you… but for me, I’m a border-line control freak. I live by my planner where I write down every detail of my schedule and thrive when my Google Calendar is color coordinated and filled to the max. At work, I love being under a healthy amount of pressure and having a long to-do list of new projects and ideas to execute on. But on a rare occasion… I look at my long list of to-do’s and weekly planner and feel overwhelmed, anxious, and defeated.

It wasn’t until a few months ago when I was reading a chapter in Wait and See that the dots were connected and I realized I didn’t ever have to feel anxious because I was never alone. The author talked about how when we sit down to have our morning coffee and look at our schedule for the week, Jesus is right there with us. When we’re checking off our to do’s and feeling overwhelmed with a new project, He is by our side. Hopefully you see where I’m going with this… when we focus on our faith, Christ will dwell within us. When He dwells within us, He is always with us. On our evening walk, our commute to work, or in the chaos of bath time with our kids. Jesus is right by our side. And because of all of this, we are empowered and can be fully rooted and grounded in love.

With all that’s going on in the world, many of us are being thrown outside of our norm and routines that we’re most comfortable with. Whether that means you’re working from home alongside a roommate or all of a sudden teaching your kids Common Core at different grade levels. These changes can seem daunting, overwhelming, and downright chaotic. In the midst of all of these changes, set your eyes on Jesus and know that He is right there with you. Our King, our Comforter, and our Redeemer. This verse can carry you through all challenges when you know the Creator of the Universe dwells within you. Allow your faith to be what roots and grounds you in love – this is one of many promises for us to stand on and walk in!

— Madeline

P.S. If you haven’t read Amanda’s first post on Walking in His Promises, make sure you check it out here!