

Infinitely, Exceedingly, Abundantly More…Believe It!
Posted by Sandy in Attitude, Blessed Life, Christian Living, Confidence in God, God's Faithfulness, God's power, God's ways, tags: Ephesians20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
As I read this passage this morning, it seemed the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear…“do you believe it?” Do I believe that God is able to do “immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine”? Yes, I believe He is able…I guess I just forget sometimes. Or perhaps I doubt that he wants to do those things. For me at least. Hmmm.
I must have missed the opening verses of the book of Ephesians:
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:3-14 (NIV)
Is it reasonable to believe that the God who has done all this for us:
- Blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ
- Chosen us before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight
- Predestined us to be adopted as His sons and daughters
- Lavished freely upon us His glorious grace with all wisdom and understanding
- Made known to us the mystery of His will – that is to bring all things under Christ
- Marked us and confirmed to us that we are saved by giving us the Holy Spirit as a deposit which guarantees our inheritance
Is it reasonable to believe that the God who has done all that for us (and more) is not willing to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”? I don’t think so.
But we have the experience of living in this fallen world where bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to me and to you; to my loved ones and to your loved ones. How do we process that against Scripture that says God is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine? Well, that’s a question that books and books have been written about. Let me just share a few thoughts before moving on:
- Painful and negative experiences shape us in ways that our joyful times cannot. Faith grows in those dark times, as does our patience, character, perseverance and humility. These are all qualities that make us more like Christ.
- Suffering gives us a common ground from which to minister to others who are suffering.
- We are sinful people living in a sinful world. Until this world is redeemed we suffer the consequences for our bad choices and the bad choices of others.
I know, those may be hollow words if you are in the midst of a deep struggle. As I said, books and books have been written about the subject and I would encourage you to read one or two or three of them. Off the top of my head I’d recommend The Gift of Pain: Why We Hurt & What We Can Do About It by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey (a great writing team) or Don’t Waste Your Sorrows by Paul E. Billheimer.
But the Holy Spirit wasn’t whispering in my ear about living in the midst of deep pain today. He was whispering about how we live in the every day trials of life – you know, the day in and day out stuff. The Holy Spirit was reminding me that I too often allow my experiences in this world to fill my view finder and I forget that God is able. That leads to living in the expectation of “more of the same” instead of the expectation of God interrupting my life and changing my circumstances. He is able and I want to honor Him by living as if I believe that. I want to approach life expecting the best from God. As encouragement to do so, let’s look our key verses in different translations:
20Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. 21May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NLT)20Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. 21May he be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the Church through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (TLB)20Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NRSV)20Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)
“Glory be to God!” Allow those phrases to soak down into your spirit…
able to accomplish
infinitely more
far more
abundantly far more
exceedingly abundantly above
than we would ever dare to ask or hope
than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.
Than we can ask or imagine
All that we ask or think
Take a moment to consider some challenge you’re facing. What is the best outcome you can imagine? God can do better than that! Infinitely better! Exceedingly abundantly better!
That’s the God we serve. I want to look for that God working in my life. And my experienced has taught me that when I look for that, God opens my eyes to it. Sometimes it takes awhile for my eyes to focus, but then His perspective comes into my field of vision and I say with Paul “Glory be to God!”
Friends, look for the goodness of God this week. Expect Him to do exceedingly more than you can ask or imagine. Because that’s just how good He is.