Scripture:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen
Ephesians 3:14-21
Devotional Thought:
Paul ends his great prayer in Ephesians 3 with a doxology that is almost too large to hold: “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 — to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. This is the God who calls us forward when we are tempted to settle for incomplete success. He is not a God who says “well, you’ve done enough — I suppose this will do.” He is a God whose plans for us exceed our most ambitious prayers and our wildest dreams.
This doesn’t mean success comes without struggle, or that finishing well is painless. Paul knew better than anyone that the road from good to God-honoring is long and costly. But the power at work within us — the same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead — is sufficient for everything that remains. We don’t press forward in our own strength. We press forward in His.
As we close this week on incomplete success, the invitation is to release both your frustration at what remains undone and your fear that you don’t have what it takes to finish. God is not limited by your limitations. He is not discouraged by the land that remains. He is the God who parts seas and levels walls and calls dead men from tombs. He looked at Joshua in his old age and said “there is still more” — not as a condemnation, but as a promise: I’m not finished yet.
You are not finished yet. The best is not behind you. There is still land remaining, and the God who brought you this far is the God who will bring you all the way home.
Reflection Questions:
1. What would it mean for you to truly believe that God is able to do “immeasurably more” in your life than you have asked or imagined?
2. What incomplete territory — in your faith, relationships, or calling — are you most afraid you won’t have the strength to claim? How does Ephesians 3:20 speak into that fear?
Application:
Pray Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14–21 out loud over your own life today. Insert your name and your specific circumstances. Let it be not a formula but a genuine cry to the God who does more than we can imagine.