This is what the Lord has been saying to me for the last few days.

He has been reminding me that He is the One Who is able to do exceedingly above what I ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). He reminds me almost daily that I keep Him small in my life by thinking small and asking small. He reminds me that Jairus thought big to go find Jesus and ask Him to come to his house to heal his dying daughter. And he asked big of Jesus to come. But guess what, Jesus said, “I will come.” Or we might say, “Let’s roll!”

So I have been thinking big and asking big this whole week. The devil doesn’t attack, he just gnaws around the edges of my thoughts. Asking big and thinking big is almost like inviting him to gnaw at the edges of my faith. But then again, it is proof that I am on the right track. Sure enough, when Jairus and Jesus were returning to his house, people came to say it was too late, his daughter was dead. Jesus immediately spoke up and said, “Fear not, only believe.” So after asking and thinking, when the gnawer (new word) comes, don’t get into fear, just keep believing.

Looking closely at Ephesians 3:20, we begin to see that the size of God in our life is directly proportional to how big we think and how big we ask. His “exceedingly above” is hampered by our littleness. Hmmm… Exactly what could He do…? (Return to Victory Ground website)

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain… (I Corinthians 15:10).”

Do you know someone who really doesn’t like you? Do you know someone who does? We all have those who do and don’t like us. But the determining factor of our emotional makeup should be that Jesus loves us most. We are too easily moved by the people and opinions of this world. Paul said, “Some people don’t like me, some do.” But he realized that what he was in his Christian walk was because of the grace of God to him. God could have easily assigned him to the pits of hell for his treatment of Christians. Instead he saved him and commissioned him to be His chosen minister. And though we sometimes think of Paul as perfect, in reality he was just like us. He did good things and bad things. He had good thoughts and bad thoughts. He had good plans and bad plans. Maybe some people thought he shouldn’t be an apostle, or at least, should be better. But his conclusion was, “By God’s grace, I am what I am.”

And his further determination was not to misuse that grace. “God didn’t waste His time when He bestowed His grace on me…I make sure I serve Him faithfully”, he said.

There may be others who are better than you in some areas. But if you realize that God’s grace in your life has made you who you are, and if you determine that His grace bestowed on you was not in vain, then you have a good balanced emotional makeup. By God’s grace, I am what I am.

So think well of yourself. Did you know that the Bible says that you, as a Christian, are a sweet smelling savor to God? Just endeavor daily to be all you can for God, and let His grace carry you through. Oh, and let Him deal with those who don’t like them…and those who do. (Return to Victory Ground website)