June 28
“Now all glory to God, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20)
In our most honest moments, many of us would probably confess that we find it difficult to really place our trust in an infinite and “greater than” God. We know what to believe. We can quote chapter and verse about most topics that have to do with God’s faithfulness in answering our prayers… or in His ability to provide what we may need (and desire) in our lives.
But when real life hits us… and we are hip-deep in a situation that requires what only God can do – we find that we spend most of our time hoping for God’s intervention rather than in truly trusting in Him.
The truth is… sometimes we are actually surprised when God does something special for us – or when He does something that proves He is still the God we have witnessed in the pages of Scripture. We are like that person in Scripture who cries out: “Lord, I do believe… help my unbelief.” We DO believe… but we still seem to have too many nagging doubts.
It is the presence of these doubts that often cause us to seek God too little – or seek too little from Him. We don’t want to waste His time (or OURS) by bothering Him with our little concerns (which must be minor in comparison to people who have much bigger problems!).
That’s why we need reminders like today’s verse. We need to know that God is not limited even by the limitations we place on Him.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments God is trying to get us to truly see that He is NOT the God of “just enough” or “barely enough to get by” – He is the God of overwhelming abundance.
It is His desire to give “pressed down, shaken together, and running over…” (Luke 6:38) OR (as in our verse for the day) “exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we may ask or think.”
Now if this sounds like “prosperity gospel” to you, it shouldn’t. The “prosperity gospel” is simply a distortion of this truth.
The problem with prosperity teaching is not the abundance of God’s giving to us… it is the selfishness that often gets attached to it. It becomes a means to use God to get what we want out of life – which was never God’s intention.
The balance is found in this truth… God abundantly gives so WE can be abundant givers. God blesses so WE can be a blessing. We receive from Him so that WE can give what we have received (freely! see Mt. 10:8).
There is a principle that we often forget… God has made Himself the never-ending Source of ALL that we need for life and godliness (2Pet. 1:3). It is His covenant promise (binding commitment) to us to pour out more than we need… so that we might be able to pour out what is extra on those who need what only God can provide.
Part of being the Light is shining in the abundance of God’s character – and His character shines when His people ARE abundant givers (just as HE is).
This is the core thought behind: “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2Cor. 9:8)
As Christ-followers, we need to adopt the mindset that truly understands that God is the God of MORE – so that we will have the constant faith to receive all that we need (and more!) so that we may give more freely… and make Him more readily seen (Mt. 5:16!).
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