“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” (Eph. 3:20).
Do we really know what the Almighty God can do for us?
Are we aware how much favor He wants to give? If we have any idea of the great things He can shower on us, the passage said that He “is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL we ask or imagine”!!
God’s kindness for His people transcends their wildest dreams! What He is willing to give they don’t even contemplate to ask from Him.
Just consider what happened to David, who became king of Israel. He was just an ordinary shepherd and never thought of what great things God would do to him.
God told the prophet Nathan:
"Now then, tell my servant David, `This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom… Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever’" (2 Sam. 7:8-16, NIV).
After the prophet related the Words of God to king David, the king prayed:
“… Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD? What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant” (2 Sam 7:18-21, NIV).
God was able to take David “from the pasture” to become a great ruler.
Of course, He is Sovereignly able to do many things for us as well.
He is able to save or protect. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said to king Nebuchadnezzar, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is ABLE TO SAVE us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king” (Dan. 3:17, NIV; please also see Dan. 6:19-23).
He is able to heal. There are many cases of healing performed by Jesus, the Son of God, while He was on earth. One of them is recorded in Matt 9:27-29, “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, ‘Do you believe that I am ABLE TO DO THIS?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this’” (NIV).
He is able to bless exceedingly to enable one to become a blessing to others. Speaking to those who gave cheerfully, Paul wrote: “And God is ABLE TO MAKE ALL GRACE ABOUND to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8, NIV).
He is able to help those who are tempted. We read in Heb. 2:17-18, “For this reason he (Jesus) had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is ABLE TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE BEING TEMPTED” (NIV).
He is able to deal gently with the weak. Referring to the Son of God, the writer of Hebrews declared, “He is ABLE TO DEAL GENTLY with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness” (Heb. 5:2, NIV).
He is able to keep or let His servants abide. Romans 11:23 states, “And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is ABLE TO GRAFT THEM IN AGAIN” (NIV). Also Romans 14:4, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is ABLE TO MAKE HIM STAND” (NIV).
He is able to change the heart.
Consider the early attitude of King Nebuchadnezzar: “Twelve months later, as the king (Nebuchadnezzar) was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, ‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?’” (Dan 4:29-30, NIV.) But after God dealt with him, he proclaimed: “At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride HE IS ABLE TO HUMBLE” (Dan. 4:36-37, NIV).
God also declared, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezek. 36:26-27, NIV).
He is able to establish those who received the gospel. Paul wrote, “Now to him who is ABLE TO ESTABLISH YOU by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past” (Rom. 16:25, NIV).
He is able to know and declare the deep mysteries. We read in Deut. 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God” (NIV) and Rev. 5:5 states, “He is ABLE TO OPEN THE SCROLL AND ITS SEVEN SEALS" (NIV).
He is able to save completely. “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he IS ABLE TO SAVE COMPLETELY those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:23-25, NIV).
He is able to keep you from falling away totally. Paul wrote, “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is ABLE TO GUARD what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Tim. 1:12, NIV). And Jude also wrote: “To him who is ABLE TO KEEP YOU FROM FALLING and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 24-25, NIV).
And He is able to destroy. “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is ABLE TO save and DESTROY. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor?” (James 4:12, NIV.)
God is love. But He is also a Lawgiver and Judge. And as Judge, He is Just. God’s Word states, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (2 Thess. 1:6-9, NIV).
Indeed, God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine… “
He is a very able God – the Almighty God who challenged us: “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jer. 32:27, NIV; also Gen. 18:14.)
And, like Jeremiah, we can just say humbly and with great awe: "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers’ sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve” (Jer. 32:17-19, NIV).
But He is not only All-Powerful, but He is also the God of Grace, who in His unlimited Power showers us also with kindness far greater than our expectation!
Do you believe, then, He is able to grant your request? Did you say, "Yes!"?
But do you also believe you can receive from Him “immeasurably more than all… (you) ask or imagine”?
PRAYER: Our Almighty Father, help us to realize that You are not just a very Powerful God – nothing is too hard for You – but you do not also withhold any good thing and even so Kind to grant us greater blessings than we can imagine. We glorify You for Your abundant Grace… we thank You for the exceeding favors You are about to give us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
