Ephesians 3:20
I made my living in sales, and often after working on a
large contract with one of our utility customers, this thought would haunt me,
how much did I leave on the table?
You see the procurement person was telling me that price was all they
were interested in, but the truth was, it was their job to get the best price.
If I would have understood my customers better, and where they place value,
what they were willing to pay for the technology, were they only interested in
price, as the procurement people were saying? I was never selling a product, I was selling a solution to a
need, the requirement may have been reliability, it may have been the testing
and history of the material, but unless I knew my customer and what they valued,
I would never be able to know if I had left money on the table. You may be asking, what does that have
to do with Ephesians 3:20? “Now to him who is
able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think, according to the power at
work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through all
generations, forever and ever. Amen”
What kind of relationship do you have with God, is it like a
client to a manufacture, and you are not sure He always has your best interest,
or that He is giving you the very best deal? If that is where you find yourself, you will never get your
hands around this Scripture, but if you have a very personal relationship to
the Father, if you know Him as your Father, then this verse should blow your
doors off. Our Father is not only
able, He is willing to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to His power that is at work within us. Are you asking yourself this question, “How much am I
leaving on the table, because of my unbelief? Jesus has promised us an abundant life in John 10:10, He
also promised abundant grace in 2 Corinthians 9:8, abundant power in Ephesians
3:20, and that He will meet our needs abundantly, in Philippians 4:19.
Could our problem be that we have
bought into the lie, “that God helps those who help themselves”? You can sum that lie up with two words,
“independent living” and the Father cannot bless that style of living; He
desires dependence. Our Savor lived
His life on this earth in total dependence on His Father. Doctor Luke states in chapter 4:1, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan
and was led by Spirit in the desert.” Jesus, fully God and fully man, never, not one time depended
on Him-self but walked only in the power of the Holy Spirit. He left us a model to live by, and
through out Scripture we have seen men and women who were led by the Holy Spirit,
people just like us. The Bible gives accounts of kings and prostitutes listening
to God, believed God and acted on the leading of the Holy Spirit, and God did
immeasurably more than all they ask or imagine, according to His power working
within them. How much are you
leaving on the table?
-
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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