Abundantly More

Ephesians 3:20 has become one of my favorite Bible verses over the course of the past few months. I often find myself thinking about the God of "abundantly more," and I wanted to dive deeper in to this verse. I recently heard about verse mapping, a method of Bible study that allows the reader to break down scripture in to words or phrases to gain deeper understanding of what God is teaching us through His Word. 

If you want to look in to verse mapping for your personal study time, this website was incredibly helpful: www.womanofnoblecharacter.com/verse-mapping/. I followed her general outline for setting up my own maps, as well as her recommendation to use biblehub.com for commentaries and dictionaries. 

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us..."

What I've been dwelling on lately is the far more abundantly portion of this verse. This verse comes from a prayer that Paul includes in his letter to the churches in Ephesus. When I think of Paul writing these letters from a prison cell, I wonder (in an amazed kind of way!) at the level of faith he must have had to not only endure his hardships as a prisoner, but to be able to keep encouraging others through his imprisonment and even to find joy in his circumstances. 

Paul believed in a God that is capable of doing more than we can even imagine. He knew that our human thinking has boundaries, limits set by our experiences and our beliefs and our circumstances. He also knew that God could totally blow up these boundaries by showing Himself in a way we could never even begin to imagine.

I think of it this way: when I have a problem, I tend to only think of possible solutions to my issue. A way to fix the problem. Speaking personally, when I dwell on my anxiety, I think of ways I can make it go away. Medicine, counseling, controlling my thoughts, deep breathing exercises...you name it, I've probably thought of it as a possible fix to my struggles. 

But God. 

God doesn't just see the solution. He sees past the solution. He sees what His will for my life is, what His plans for me are - plans for me to prosper and have life and a future beyond anxiety. I can think all I want about anxiety and how to make it go away but God's vision is eternal. He doesn't just want me to stop with the solution - He has a vision for me that goes far beyond all I could even begin to pray for. 

What if our faith made us pray expectant prayers? Not just "help me through the day" kind of prayers, but prayers that completely put God in control - "I'm going to stop pursuing solutions and start running hard after you, God, who is able to do far more abundantly than all I can ask or think."

The second half of the verse hasn't been as committed to my mind as the first, but I didn't want to leave it out of my study, and God has completely opened my eyes through studying this verse this morning.

"...according to the power that is at work within us,"

Fellow believer, do you ever think about the fact that you have a divine and miraculous and unbelievable power that is actively working within you? 

I'll be honest, I don't think about that fact very often. But wow, I should!

Here's the thing. We are constantly looking for something better. I see it everywhere I look. You'll be hard pressed to find a human that isn't looking for something new and better, a way to fix an issue they're dealing with. You can fill in the blank: a better job, better relationship, better waist size, better appearance, better mood...better anything. We try the newest fads. We commit ourselves to living a (possibly fake) social media life that we hope makes us appear better than we actually are. We put on a happy face and go out in to our tiny world, hoping we look better than we feel under the surface.

What if we stopped striving so hard for better and stopped to think about the fact that we already have the best?

We have a power working within us that is unstoppable. It's unbeatable. It's the power above all powers. We know that God is capable of anything. He isn't limited by our finite minds. He can create something out of nothing. He hears our prayers and answers our prayers with his limitless knowledge and endless power. 

That power, the one that can't be stopped, is what is actively living in and working in anyone who has given their life to Christ. This energy should be what propels us and sustains us through our days!

What if we let the power that is working within us make us better? To improve our marriages, our friendships, our physical health, emotional health, mental health, to improve our mood and our outlook on life. I fully believe that we can harness that power of God that is already within us and use that to better ourselves. We can give up on the myriad of self-help, DIY kind of messages that are so prevalent in our world today and rely on the power of One that we know won't fail us. He is an abundantly more kind of God, after all.

What if we gave up pushing for simply what's better, realize that we're already living with the best, and used that best kind of power within us to love those around us, to show them Jesus, to build God's kingdom here on earth? My mind is reeling, thinking about how different our communities would be if we could grab hold of the power that is at work within us and if we actually let it work through us.

I pray that you'll join me in meditating on this verse. I thank God for the power that He's given each of us that are living in Him. I pray that we can use His power to achieve far more than we can even begin to imagine is possible for the sake of His name, for we serve a God of abundantly more. 

Failure

Have you ever felt like a total failure?


I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you answered “yes.” If not, well…please share your secrets!


But the fact is I can assume you have felt like a failure because you’re a human. This is probably not news to you, but failure seems to be an inevitable part of life.


Why do we fail? For any number of reasons, really. We get too caught up in the details that we miss the big picture. We forget things. We’re painfully stubborn, independent, and refuse to ask for help.

In short, we’re sinful people living in a fallen world. Whether we place blame on our circumstances, our environment, upbringing, another person, or ourselves, the fact of the matter is that failure is to be expected at one time or another or a million times.


Well, that’s enough encouragement for today.


Kidding.


So what do we do with this?


The Bible speaks in absolutes when it comes to messing up. There’s no “you might make a mistake one time, sayeth the Lord.” The Word of God makes it rather clear that perfection is not something to be attained. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a very gracious and relieving start to looking at our failures. God is not shaking His head while watching me fail for the thousandth time today, thinking “oh man, I thought today would finally be the day she got it all right! Let’s try again tomorrow…”


Nope. He knows me intimately. He created me, after all. He knows the weakest parts of my flesh and where I’m most likely to mess up. He shows mercy and grace even more in those weak spots.

Psalm 37:24 says, “though he [a man] fall, he should not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.”


If I’m honest, this verse makes me laugh a little on the inside because I relate to it on such a deep and personal level. I fall a lot, guys. Maybe not full-on faceplant, but I trip over toys/the dog/my feet/thin air all the time. You know that feeling you get when you trip? Momentum starts building and gravity takes over and you hit the “well this is inevitably happening” stage and you brace for impact. To me, this is “casting headlong.” I may be off on my translation here but as a chronic sufferer of “bull in a china shop” syndrome, that’s where my mind goes.


Imagine when you hit the “I’m going down, folks” stage of failing and the problems start snowballing and you gain momentum and the failing pushes on your shoulders like one of those Acme anvils from nowhere but instead of sudden impact with the ground, you’re met with a strong hand to steady you. When it seems like there’s no choice but to let gravity and your sin and your circumstances take you down, out of nowhere comes a steady arm, a calming voice coming over you, saying, “whoa, easy there,” picking you up from your headlong descent.


That is the power of Christ in our lives, friends. Note that He never promises that we won’t fall. The assurance of God is that He’ll scoop us up with His unfailing hands. We may feel like we’ve hit rock bottom, but I think that if we truly have Jesus in our lives, rock bottom is not a place where we can live.


To me, rock bottom alludes to a place that cannot be escaped.


Can our troubles overwhelm us?


Absolutely.


Do we feel sometimes that things couldn’t possibly be any worse? And then somehow, they actually do find a way to get worse?


Definitely. We’ve all been there before.


Do we find ourselves wondering sometimes if God has forgotten about us?


I think it’s hard to admit, but yes.


So how is this not rock bottom?


Because I believe God when He says He won’t leave me or forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 28:20)


I believe that there is freedom from condemnation and sin and death in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1-2)


I believe that God works all things together for the good of those living in Him. (Romans 8:28)


I believe that if God is for me, nothing can be against me and nothing can separate me from His love,
not even what I would consider “rock bottom.” (Romans 8:31, 37-39)


Is failure a part of life? It absolutely is and it threatens to take us down more often than we care to admit.


We can’t let rock bottom become our new residence though because God promises that we can’t stay there forever. He won’t let us remain there. There is always another side. It might not be clear to us today or next month or even five years from now, but God is working in your life, orchestrating the failures and victories and disappointments together for His glory.


Are you struggling to see why God seems to be keeping you in a holding pattern right now with certain struggles? I have been there, too. I encourage you to change your perspective and your prayers. Instead of losing heart, ask God what He want you to do with this struggle. Pray that God would show you what He’s going to do with this. Ask for strength to take the next small step of faith in the storm.


Life can be so hard, and failure can be so heavy. Open your eyes to the hand that upholds you, to the promise that the One who created you will never leave you. Soak in the promise that this will be used for His good and His glory. Hold tight to His hand. He loves you because of you who are – because you’re His – not because you managed to achieve a façade of perfection today.