Faith in a Time of Pandemic – More Than We Can ask or Imagine

LXI
MORE THAN WE CAN ASK OR IMAGINE
(5/26)
God is able to give us more than we can ask or imagine according to his power within us. (Ephesians 3:20)

This is a really big promise, “more than we can ask or imagine.” It seems unrealistic, wishful thinking, and we are the privileged ones. We have homes, food, electronics, and media. We have people to whom we can reach out. We are very different from the Ephesian church, which likely endured some sort of persecution and who could not likely meet in public, period! Many of their leaders, including Paul who inspired this letter, although he may not have written it, were in prison, confined to quarters by the decisions of others.

Most of us can’t imagine thinking of abundant life in difficult times, but that is what the author of Ephesians affirms. Don’t think small. Don’t talk about what you don’t have. Do cry “woe.” Now, we have problems and we need to honor them. We can’t deny our situation or the emotional or spiritual struggles we face. But even here, God is with us. God promises growth and fullness of life to those who trust God’s path.

The author of Ephesians says that God’s power is within us. That is an amazing promise. God is at work in our lives, even with our anxieties, concerns, and limitations. God’s power will propel us forward one moment and step at a time. It’s a matter of opening to the resources we are receiving moment by moment and day by day.

Trust that there is more than meets the eye in your current situation and in your life. Trust that God is at work, providing for what you need and inspiring you to be the answer to someone’s prayer. What great thing is God calling you toward today and in the future?

“The more than we can ask or imagine” is growing in love, reaching out to others, healing relationships, discovering what’s important, living by your values, doing something new, and blessing everyone you meet, and discovering how wonderful your life is even in a time of pandemic. If we trust God, we can live the spiritual, written by people who knew struggle and bondage, “over and over, over and over, my soul looks back and wonders how I got over.”

Here is one of my favorites “How I Got Over” sung by Mahalia Jackson and filmed at the March on Washington, 1963 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9iQUIwAgus

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Thank you, Jesus, “our soul looks back and wonder how we got over.” How we got over, how we got through this time, and how we can help others find their way. Let us jump on the freedom train, helping others have more than they can ask or imagine. Amen.