According to the Power

People love to talk about what God can do and quite rightly so. Serving a God to whom all things are possible is wonderfully exciting as it reaffirms biblical truths that we can take all things to Him, and trust Him to work them out on our behalf and for His glory.

However, one thing that is consistent throughout the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, is the fact that God's promises to His people are usually conditional. Nowhere is this more clearly enunciated than in John 15:7 where we read Jesus' words to His disciples, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (KJV). Interestingly in verse 14 we also read, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." Our relationship with our heavenly Father is not a passive one, but one that demands our active engagement. Don't we have the same expectations of our own children? What kind of relationship would it be if they did nothing and the parents did everything to make them comfortable and to meet every need?

I thought of this active engagement as I read Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Most of us are intimately acquainted with the first clause but what about the second? I like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases it in The Message: "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us."

After meditating on this for a while, it occurred to me that just maybe we are the hindrance to our blessings. There is no doubt that God is more than ready, willing, and able to do His part but are we doing our part? Are we allowing His Spirit to work deeply and gently within us? See, both go hand in hand; we cannot have one without the other.

Today is as good a time as any to stop and consider the following: What power is at work in your life? Who is in control? Who are you listening to? Yes, our God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think BUT only according to the power that worketh in us. We get to decide.