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Exceedingly, Abundantly Above All We Ask or Think

This is one of those Scriptures that I could read over and over again and still find something new in it.

Paul ends this portion of his letter with a doxology—a declaration of praise to God. And what a declaration it is.

He reminds us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Think about that for a minute.

Not just what we ask.

Not just what we hope for.

Not just what we can imagine.

Above all that we ask or think.

Our prayers are limited by what we know. Our expectations are limited by what we've experienced. Even our imaginations have limits. We tend to look at a situation and try to figure out how God could possibly change it based on what we can see right now.

But God isn't limited by what we can see.

He isn't limited by our circumstances.

He isn't limited by our understanding.

And He certainly isn't limited by our imagination.

God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Sometimes we look at a situation and see a dead end while God sees a doorway. We see something that seems impossible while God sees an opportunity to show us just how powerful He is.

And I think that's part of what makes this verse so powerful.

God is already at work even when we can't see what He is doing.

That doesn't mean God will always answer our prayers the way we want Him to. I've learned that sometimes His answer is different from what I expected, and sometimes His timing is very different from mine.

But that doesn't mean He isn't working.

Sometimes God is working in the situation.

Sometimes He's working in the people around us.

And sometimes, if we're being honest, He's working in us.

That's what Paul means when he says, "according to the power that works in us."

God doesn't just want to change what's happening around us. He wants to transform what's happening within us. He wants to grow our faith, strengthen our trust, change our perspective and teach us to depend on Him.

There have been plenty of times in my life when I didn't understand what God was doing. I've prayed for things that didn't happen the way I thought they would. I've wondered why certain doors closed and why certain seasons lasted as long as they did.

But looking back, I can see things I couldn't see while I was walking through them.

I can see where God was protecting me.

I can see where He was redirecting me.

I can see where He was growing me.

And I can see that what I thought was the end of something was sometimes the beginning of something I couldn't have imagined.

That's why this verse is such a reminder to me to trust God with the things I cannot figure out.

I don't have to know how He's going to do it.

I don't have to know when He's going to do it.

I don't even have to understand what He's doing.

I just have to remember who He is.

He is able.

He is able when I am not.

He is able when the situation looks impossible.

He is able when I don't see a way forward.

He is able when my plans don't work out.

He is able when my faith feels small.

And He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think.

What if we actually lived like we believed that?

What if instead of telling God how big our problems are, we started reminding ourselves how big our God is?

What if we stopped putting limits on what God can do because we can't see a way for it to happen?

What if we prayed bigger prayers—not because we expect God to give us everything we want, but because we trust that He knows what is best?

Let's leave room for God to surprise us.

Let's stop trying to put God in a box based on what we think is possible.

Because our view is limited.

His isn't.

And the beautiful thing about this passage is that Paul doesn't end by making the focus about what God can do for us.

He ends with praise:

"To Him be glory..."

That's the point.

Whatever God chooses to do, however He chooses to do it, and whenever He chooses to do it, the glory belongs to Him.

So today, let's choose to believe that God is working even when we can't see it.

Let's choose to trust Him with the things we don't understand.

Let's choose to pray, to believe, to wait and to leave room for God to do what only God can do.

Because we don't want to limit God to what we can see.

Let's remember that He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think.

And maybe the thing we're praying about right now isn't going to happen the way we think it will.

Maybe God has something completely different in mind.

Maybe His answer will be better than the one we would have written for ourselves.

So let's keep trusting.

Let's keep praying.

Let's keep believing.

And let's keep reminding ourselves:

God is able.

More able than we are.

More powerful than our circumstances.

More faithful than our feelings.

And capable of doing far more than we could ever ask, imagine or dream.

To Him be the glory. Forever and ever. Amen.