Thursday, January 27, 2011

While my parents were entering their last days on this earth a good friend gave me a small devotional book that spoke to my heart and lifted my spirits. I thought I would pass on these words of wisdom in the months to come. The devotional book is "From Encouraging Words For Woman" published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission."

"What can God do? Maybe we should turn that around and ask, "What can't God do?" Can you think of anything?
How about that problem you're grappling with? Because you're so close to it, does it seem bigger than God? Does it cast a shadow that seems to hide God's presence? When life's troubles loom over us, we all tend to lose our sense of perspective. As we focus on our problems, God seems to fade into the background of our lives; from our faulty point of view, His presence seems tiny and insignificant. In times like these, we need to remind ourselves of the simple but incredible description the apostle Paul gives of what God can do. Paul tells us that God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20)
In order to really grasp that verse in a practical way, I need to break it down into bite-sized truths. Paul is saying that God is able to do:
*What I ask
*All I ask
*More than all I ask
*Immeasurably more than all I ask.
*What I can imagine.
*All I imagine.
* More than all I imagine.
*Immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine.
Wow! That should be enough for my problems today!
But there's more. Paul tells us how God can do all this. He does it "according to His power that is at work within us." That power is resurrection power - the power that raised Jesus from the dead, the power of Jesus' "Indestructible life" (Hebrews 7:16)!
Maybe you're thinking, That sounds great, but I don't know exactly how it applies to a practical approach for the problem I'm facing.
Well, think of it this way: If God could raise Jesus from the dead, is that power enough for you at the point of your neediness? I'd say so, wouldn't you? The Creator of the universe is ready to use His power in your life.
This power of God's is not merely an abstract capability He reserves for creating planets and stars and universes. He is also at work within us who are His children. Yes, His power lives inside us, working from the inside out. Our part is:
*To cooperate with what He is doing
*not to get in His way
*to let Him achieve in our lives what He wants to
*Not to insist on doing things "our" way.
Then His power can bring about what we could never accomplish in our own strength.
So when you put yourself and your dilemma in the middle of this verse of Paul's, what part of your problem is too big for God?

"He can!"

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