“Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20
Every year at a church I used to attend, we would have a special kind of summer camp. I can’t remember what year it was specifically but I do remember the verse at the top was the topic of the duration of the camp (around 4 days). As I read the verse once, I cannot imagine how all sermons, songs and conversations rotated around a few words. I read it again and it is so powerful you can feel it calming your anxiety, you can feel the reassurance in your heart, the security of God’s love for you and it even gives you goose bumps.
I’m not diminishing the word of God, but I believe there are some verses in the Bible, just like this one, that can change your mood, your vision, your get-me-going in a split second. (Psalm 23 for example is another one).
I’m an avid reader, but like all working women, you tend to dig in to the day job routine, then go home and take care of dinner, cleaning, etc. that by the time you’re done all you want to do is slip into those pj’s and jump into bed, leaving that morning “good intention” of reading the Bible as a second option to watching some TV before shutting the lids. Has it happened to you that you force yourself to read the Scriptures and you find yourself reading the same passage over and over again and you don’t seem to get any “umph” out of it? No inspiration? No lesson? No scolding? Yep. It has happened to me many times…and then, then you find a passage like this one and it ALL changes. (I’m not saying the word of God is meaningless, at all, it just means you’re not paying attention to what you’re reading).
This is one of my favorite passages in times of stress, times of discourage, times of distress, loneliness, sadness. As a recent bride, I’ve come across the tough moment after a discussion (more of a fight) with your husband. Our apartment is pretty much 4-walls and a door (but I love it!) so there’s no real places of hiding for those moments of “I just can’t look at you right now”. All that’s left is swallowing your pride, heavy breathing and praying for calm. So, in one occasion (they don’t happen very often praise the Lord!) I wanted to burst out in tears, scream my lungs out and storm out the door. I didn’t do that. Instead, I grabbed the car keys and said, I need to go out for a minute. I got in the car, pulled out of the driveway and just drove, and drove and drove. And cried, and cried and cried. Searched for an inspirational song on the radio (didn’t find one) and then shut it off and began begging the Lord to calm my soul, to fix whatever needed fixing and to get things back to normal.
It was at the most distressful moment of my night that I remembered Ephesians 3:20-21. Tears stopped falling, my heart felt warm and fuzzy again. This verse made my body and soul feel like a mother’s embrace…except, it was my Father’s embrace, saying: It’ll be alright, I am with you and my power is like no other.
The long drive and the good cry made me feel better, but my heart-to-heart with God made me feel secure, in His love, in His timing, in His provision and His promises. Ephesians 3:20-21 is a constant reminder of this and more, forever and always.