An Ephesians 3:20 Moment - Meditation Upon the Verse

An Ephesians 3:20 Moment - Meditation Upon the Verse

“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,” Ephesians 3:20 is one of the most influential verses in the New Testament.  It comforts and challenges the believer.  The verse reminds us the awesome and infinite abilities of the Creator of the universe surpass our mental capacities of logic and imagination.  Interestingly, He deposits that incredible power within each believer.  From birth in which we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-16), we are the gracious recipients of God’s creative power.  However, we face the daily challenge of surmounting any fear that plagues us.  Can we find the faith and trust to genuinely rely upon God in order to access and utilize this majestic and mysterious internal fortitude?

In the King James Version of the Bible, Ephesians 3:20 reads, “Now to Him who can do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”  The characterization, “exceedingly abundantly,” richly describes the abilities of the infinite architect of the universe.  God’s only limitations are the ones He chooses to place upon Himself. 

In order to overcome the mediocrity that society readily accepts, a person faces a daily intrapersonal challenge.  A friend of mine recently shared with our group a personal acknowledgment.  He fiercely desires to obtain his heartfelt goals and dreams in life.  Yet, he remains in the same place as it relates to achieving them.  This paralysis greatly puzzles him.  He reflects upon his predicament.  He resolves that he possesses the requisite talents and abilities to actualize his ambitions.  Thus, he accepts that he has no excuses should he fail to do so.  Where is the disconnect between his potential and skills and his progress toward his goals?  He concludes that he must “pull it from within [himself].” 

Despite his cumbersome grammar, he offers us an important insight and practical method for utilizing an Ephesians 3:30 faith.  As the second half of this verse says, God accomplishes the unimaginable through His power at work within us.  This means practically that we challenge ourselves to find greater quantities and qualities of focus, discipline and excellence within ourselves.  Inherently, we know when we are giving our very best efforts in any task.  At times of adversity, indifference and apathy, we strive to resist mediocrity.  The daily consequence of this newfound determination is a rededication to practicing spiritual disciplines and faithfully working towards your goals and dreams.  Working smart and not hard, demanding a greater level of excellence, and showing up to work on your goals, all, are methods of how we challenge ourselves to actualize an Ephesians 3:20 faith.

The recent and incredible rescue of thirty-three trapped Chilean miners who were more than a mile and a half below ground for nearly seventy days illustrates this spiritual concept.  For approximately two weeks, no one knew whether any of these men were alive.  Probably, most people silently surrendered to the most agonizing thoughts of their deaths.  How badly would the bodies decompose if they could be retrieved for burial?  As we mine for internal spiritual riches, we often have to dig far more deeply than we would like.  Our initial inability to find any treasure leads us to believe that we search within a graveyard.  Yet, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, all of the miners were alive in that two-week period.  In fact, they encouraged each other to remain positive that they would be rescued.  One of them consistently used humor as a means of hope.  Upon surfacing after the rescue, he laughed, told jokes and shared pieces of the Earth’s deepest rocks as souvenirs with the rescuers.  His bold example teaches us to remain positive and grateful as we search for the light of God within us.  As the rescue mission progressed, cameras sent to the accident sight verified that all thirty-three men are alive.  What an amazing discovery!  We were able to abolish totally our unspoken fears about death, grief, funerals and loss.  As we persevere in our quest to discover the power of God operating in us, we too can annihilate our deepest fears when we partially glimpse a spark of the divine in us.  That moment forever banishes negativity, doubt, failure and complaining.  In time, the rescuers were able to send the trapped miners food, medicine, water, and other sundries to strengthen and sustain them as they waited.  I imagine that those trapped miners acquired a new found appreciation for food, water and basic sustenance.  The daily practice of spiritual discipline resembles that practical step.  Remembering to be grateful for daily bread is as important as the bread itself.  Gratitude for physical strength and the ability to persevere as one waits for rescue are the natural outgrowths of thankfulness for receiving food to keep one alive.  As it relates to spiritual growth and personal development, you can feed your inner most heart, soul and being through daily spirituality as you await the actualization of your talent and potential.  After a long period of seventy days, one by one, the trapped miners are raised to safety and the surface of the Earth.  Their extensive “overtime” shift teaches us that similarly we may need to dig deeply and lengthily within ourselves to discover our divine gifts and power.