infinitely more

Ephesians 3:20

By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. (NLT)

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... (NIV)

Now to Him who by His power within us is able to do far more than we ever dare to ask or imagine... (J.B. Phillips)

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us... (NKJV)

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us... (ESV)

With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. (ERV)

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. (The Message)

Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us... (The Voice)
God can do much more than we ask him to do, or we even think of. He does it by his power which is working in us. (WE)


No matter how we translate or paraphrase it, here's what stands out to me...

There is an infinitely stupendous Power available that is already inside of each of us. (Each translation or paraphrase says that.)

     That Power is the Holy Spirit.

God works through us because of the power of the Holy Spirit that is channeled through us.

And what God is able to be & do through us is something that is infinitely more than anything we can imagine.


So?


All of us suffer from some sort of self-image stuff...

     iow, we don't think we are capable of very much.

     it's kind sorta an attitude of "how can God use me because I'm not _____" .  (you fill in the blank.).


Paul dispels our insecurity & inferiority by basically saying that it's not us who are makin' things happen - it's God, with endless, unbelievable power.

So that kinda lets us off the hook as far as being responsible for being the engine pulling the train...

     iow, we don't have to be & do anything utilizing just our own strength.


And Paul also says we not only need to think outside the box about what direction God may choose to act through us...

     we need to just throw away our box...

     we need to throw away our preconceived ideas & expectations of what we think is possible.

     we just need to adopt a wait & see what God's gonna do.


Boy, howdy - do I need to hear that last part. this morning!

We are so shaped by our culture & our world - what it tells us we need & can expect out of life.

Paul says that God is telling us something different because of His Holy Spirit's power inside of us.

I guess it's the "expect the unexpected" kind of thing we should watch out for.

So is it a stretch to say that in our lives therefore the miraculous should be viewed as commonplace?


Think about that today - the concept that we are to move through our daily lives being thankful for, but not astounded by, anything miraculous that may develop or happen?