The other day, one of my children shared discouragement over an overwhelming workload at school, another child was frustrated over persistent crippling foot pain, another struggled with school work issues and on and on. I KNOW to PRAY and not worry. I know that I know that I know. But, forgive me Lord, I'm praying on the outside but fretting on the inside. I will hand over my cares and concerns to the Almighty and the next thing I know, I am anxiously twisting and turning them over in my mind like some mental rubric's cube, and I forfeit the peace and joy and strength the Lord longs to give me. The Lord demonstrates His faithfulness and provision over and over again and yet, along comes a bump in the road, and I'm ready to run off the road in panic and despair.
I don't know why the Lord puts up with the likes of me! If I were God, I certainly wouldn't. O, but for this we have Jesus. "But God shows His love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8 Did you notice, there's another one of those, "but God's?" We mess up, we fail, we fall, we flounder...but God. We know we are to pray and not worry, and yet we do just the opposite...but God died for us even knowing we would fail again and again all the way to heaven. We know we are to rely on His power and strength and yet we get busy doing things in our own paltry strength and we crash and burn. And as we lift our bleary eyes from the ashes, He gently reminds us "but God" died for all our crashes and mess ups and, incredibly, He loves us just as much as if we never sinned. Who can explain a love like that?!
Okay, I digress. Here's what I was thinking about this morning. We are studying the book of Ephesians in Bible study, and Eph. 3:20 has come to my mind over and over. "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly that all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (and v. 21 "to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Amen to that!!) Driving back from carpool, it was if the Lord said, "break it down and really think about all this is saying to you, Emily!" "Now"--right at this moment. Today. What do you need today? His power and provision are available to us right at this minute--whether we are driving children around or doing laundry or going to work or sitting by a loved one's bedside or encouraging a desperate friend. He is the eternal God of NOW! Sure, eternity is coming, praise God, but right now, right in the ditches and muddy pits of our everyday lives He is here and available now!
"To Him"--okay, so don't take it for granted--it's Him, Almighty God, Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer. The Alpha and Omega, the very very beginning and the very very ultimate end (if there were an end!) The omniscient, the omnipresent, the omnipotent--think of a word and put omni in front of it and you get the idea! Sort of makes you calm down when you realize the Lord who created the vast solar system is with you and He can handle whatever you are facing right this very moment, doesn't it?
"Who is able"--what can I say? He is able! He is able! He is able! He is able! He is able! He is able! Tell yourself that a thousand times of day when dread and worry and inadequacy threaten to swamp your little boat--you are not able "but God" is able! O let me say it again, because I love to hear it--HE IS ABLE!
And it that were not enough: He is able "to do"--He can do it. Now, I'm a big doer. When there's a problem, I immediately shift into "what can I do" mode. (You did notice that pronoun, "I," didn't you?) Who can I call? Who can I ask? What can I do to make this problem go away? What can I say or do... But He is able to do. For pete's sake, we need to go to Him and ask Him "to do" what we can't. I can get lost going to the grocery store. I can't remember the name of my son's dorm room (pathetic, I know). I can't seem to get rid of clutter or stop eating sweets or cease nagging my children. But He is able to do what I can't. Thank You Lord!
But He doesn't just "do" a little. That would still be pretty spectacular, you know, since He is the Lord of the universe, so His little would be waaaaaay waaaaaaay beyond anything I could ever do. "But God" is able to do "far more abundantly than all we ask or think." Unbelievable. I don't even know how to comment on that! Who can even get their minds around that? "Far more abundantly"--God's "abundantly" is like the difference between a the ocean and a microscopic drop of water. And He does abundantly more than we could ever even dream up in our wildest and most improbable of dreams. Our minds can range pretty far--He is so far beyond that we can't even come up with a metaphor! Paul just says it best "far more abundantly than all we ask or think." Wow. That is power.
But here's the ridiculous part: "According to the power at work within us." That superabundant, supernatural power is at work IN US! The God of eternity and space has placed His power within us as He works in us and through us to His glory. What kind of God would do that?--give away His power to frail, failure-prone people? What kind of God would give His power to those who He knows will reject Him and refuse to listen to Him?
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
Look at the cross and You will see what kind of God. Such is our Saviour and there is none other. And whatever you are facing, right now...He... is able... to do... abundantly more... than all we ask or think... according to the power at work in us. With Paul we say, "to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
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