Beyond Imagination (1)

Now 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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20,21)

I wonder how many times in the last year or so you’ve heard someone say something along the lines of “At the start of 2020 I could never have imagined …”? Maybe you’ve even found yourself voicing these words. The presence of Covid-19 has turned so many things upside down and made everyday life more complicated - face masks, lateral flow tests, self-isolation, home schooling, working from home, meeting socially … and so much more. It’s challenged many of our assumptions - and presumptions - and has been a sobering and humbling reminder that there are so many things beyond our control.
 
Scientists and other specialists have done some remarkable and inventive work over the last eighteen months to help us adjust to a changed world, not least of all the impressively rapid development of vaccinations. But we still face big uncertainties in the months and years ahead.
 
As with many of his letters, Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus to give some practical instruction on Christian living. But he also wanted to remind them that the Gospel is a message of hope, and in chapter 3 he prays a glorious prayer that they will come to understand just how much God loves them. It reaches a crescendo in verses 20 and 21 with a reminder that God does things which are beyond our imagination.
 
Is the way you live restricted by what you think God can do in you and through you? Is the way you pray limited by how you think God will answer your prayers? God has given us wonderful powers of thought and reasoning, but they have human limitations. So, it’s really important that they don’t get in the way of what God wants to do.
 
Our God is all-powerful; He created and sustains all things; there’s no limit to what He can do! We are a very special part of His creation, called to love and serve Him, sometimes in very ordinary ways but at other times in quite remarkable ways. Don’t let what you can imagine limit what our great God wants to do with your life.
 
Lord, thank you for the joy and privilege of being friends with you. Help me to deepen that friendship as I learn to expect greater and greater things from you. Amen
 
Photo by Joshua Lanzarini on Unsplash