Ephesians 3:14-21
Vs. 14-19
When I think of all this, I fall to my
knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven
and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will
empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his
home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s
love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all
God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand
fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power
that comes from God.
Vs. 20-21
Now all glory to God, who is able, through
his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might
ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all
generations forever and ever! Amen.
I
love this passage because it reminds me how great and vast God’s love is, so
much that I can’t comprehend it. But to really dwell on and know that His love
and power is at work in our lives. This gives us the motivation to want to and
be able to pray for specific things and know God will provide ”infinitely more than we could ask or think”
(vs. 20).
The
past couple of years I have realized the importance of pressing into prayer and
not just praying that things go smoothly or that whatever happens is God’s will,
but instead really praying specifically. Why do I tell my friends the whole
long drawn out story about something and then barely pray about it? God desires that relationship with us just
like our closest friends and family do. So why do I share my hopes and dreams
with friends but pray the simple and quick version to God?
I
think there’s several reasons for this. First, the world tells us this lie that
we shouldn’t get our hopes up about things, that we shouldn’t expect a good
outcome. Maybe because we have been let down or disappointed in the past and we
can’t let our hearts go there. But I think that we are just limiting God.
Saying to God, ‘I know you are good, but you won’t or couldn’t do that for me’
so I won’t even pray about it. Verse 20 of
Ephesians says, “Now all glory to God, who
is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely
more than we might ask or think.” What if you really began to believe that God
would move and that He would bring good things from a horrible situation or
even just a mediocre life? What if you actually believed that God would come
through or provide for you in all circumstances? I believe He wants us to
engage in this kind of intentional prayer life with Him. One where we aren’t
just waking up and getting through our day, but one where we are constantly
seeking him in prayer and looking for His hand in conversations and
relationships.
I am not any different than you. I’m just
learning to seek to see God move, little, and big, and believe that He is in every
situation. I am learning that “His
mighty power is at work within me”. It’s not me, but Him. And let me tell
you, He has really shown up.
I’ll admit when I first signed up for this
mission trip I was basically praying about not dying from the 7 shots I had to
get. Praying that I would get along with the team, make a difference, and not
be overtired from the day and a half of flying. Worrying that I would get
Malaria and hate all the food and end up with diarrhea for days on end! Dramatic I know, but just being real. Those
are all things that dealt with being in Uganda and those 14 short days that I knew
God would be working and using us. Until I realized ‘why am I not praying specificially that God would use this preparation time before the trip for good?’ For some
reason, I thought God would just be working during the mission trip. I was limiting God. But what I have
learned is that God has been in every conversation I’ve had with people about
Uganda even when I wasn’t aware. He had bigger plans that I didn’t even think
about.
For example, we had been having a lot issues
getting sound advice on the vaccines I was able to receive with my health
situation at the our clinic, where we receive care and vaccines for free. After
much frustration, we decided we needed to seek out an infectious disease
specialist to get the right care. However, this specialist would cost us
hundreds of dollars and would not be covered by insurance. A few
weeks ago we went to this specialist and while at the appointment the doctor
asked a lot of details about what kind of work we would be doing in Uganda. At
the end of the appointment he decided to give us a 60 percent discount on the
visit because he said "I admire people who are going out there to make
this world a better place!" Again, God is always working, why am I so
surprised?!
God continues to show up in
unexpected places. Our team has an Amazon wish list of items we need for our
trip to provide sports and games, and arts and crafts for over 600 children in
Uganda. Among these items, was a $350.00 parachute for the kids to play with,
an item that Visiting Orphans had been trying to get for several years. It had
been on the list for weeks and no one had purchased it. Trevor called his mom
to see if she knew of any place we could get a parachute. Within the hour,
Trevor’s mom called the elementary school principal in our hometown. He
responded by saying the school had just purchased a new one and the school was
wiling to donate the old one for FREE! God has perfect timing even in these
small things. What was once my husband’s elementary parachute is now going to
be used by 600 African children.
And lastly I have been specifically praying that God would use this mission trip in my conversations at
work and with family and friends. Very few people at work know I have thyroid
cancer. I have chosen not to talk about it much throughout the school year. I recently
missed a day of work and a coworker asked where I was. I explained I was going
to get a second opinion about my immunizations because of my health history.
She asked “what health history?” and I just sort of blurted out about my thyroid cancer. She immediately told me about a
coworker who within that week had gotten diagnosed with thyroid cancer and was
going to have surgery in 6 days. So again, I got to share my story, put together a
thyroid cancer surgery care package, and offer comfort to someone who was about
to go through what I went through. All because I missed a day of work for
immunizations and God nudged me to share my story the same week of her diagnosis.
This trip has nothing to do with
me. Nothing to do with an adventure or checking a dream of mine off my list. It
has everything to do with God working through me to use my ordinary life and the stories He has given me to further His kingdom and “to accomplish infinitely more than we might
ask or think.”
-L
It's like Christmas around here with the above donations!! Thank you to all who donated, you are a part of something much bigger.
You can view the updated Amazon wish list below:http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/21LVU7XYA9HL4/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_ws_NecJtb0YV9XKJ
