Once upon a time a student at Duke University in North Carolina was invited to a masquerade party. He decided to go dressed as the mascot of the college – the Blue Devils. He put on a blue devil costume and headed for the party. 
Somehow he got the wrong address and walked into a church prayer meeting. When the people saw a blue devil coming in, they went out. Terrified Christians ran for the doors and windows. Except one lady. She was rather stout and couldn’t move very quickly, so she sat in the pew and started screaming. The student, forgetting that he was causing this uproar, ran to help her. The woman saw the blue devil advancing on her, threw up her hands and said, “Stop! I’ve been a member of this church for 25 years, but I want you to know that I’ve been on your side all the time!”
Fear and surrender. When faced with the enemy, those Christians reacted with fear and surrender.
When something is threatening and challenging, how do you react? It depends on where your faith is resting. It depends on what or who you believe in.
Ephesians 3:20-21 shows us that we can believe in and choose to act on the greatness of our God. Paul wrote:
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
This is the end of Paul’s prayer. Remember what he has asked. To be “strengthened with power” – to reinforce you so you’re able to do what’s needed. To “know the love of Christ” – for the massive love of Jesus to actually come into you and make a difference. To be “filled up to all the fullness of God” – to be made whole by living in all that God is and has with Christ dwelling in your hearts by faith. Now Paul brings us to focus on the one we pray to. Can he answer our prayers? Can he do the work that needs to be done? Is he trustworthy? Is he believable? Does he deserve thanks? According to Paul, the answer is yes. You have to come to that answer for yourself. When you do – when you really believe in the greatness of God – you’ll start to live on a higher level than the rest of the world.
Paul just comes right out and says that God is able. How able? “Able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…” “Able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…(NIV)” We can’t even think of anything beyond God’s ability. Your imagination always exceeds your ability. You can imagine far more that you can actually do. In the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci imagined man being able to fly in a machine, but he never built a flying machine. We always imagine more than we can do. But God’s ability to do is always more than our ability to imagine.
In fact, it’s “far more abundantly beyond.” We never even get close to the limits of God’s power. He never has to stop and figure out or wonder if he can do what needs done. He’s never in a bind. He never has to strain. God is able.
Now look at this. God “is able to do…according to the power that works within us.” Again Paul emphasizes that God works in us – within the inner man, the heart, the spirit. God works on what’s inside – the beliefs, attitudes, and needs that drive us. God works with power – the power of the resurrected Lord, of the Holy Spirit – on the inside to do far than we can imagine. When you turn your life over to Jesus Christ, then the Triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit – enters your life with all his ability. His infinite power is available wherever you are, whatever you do, whatever has happened to you. He is able to do far more than you can imagine – in your life.
God puts his power into operation in your life and is able to do what you need. Like keep your family together. His power can keep marriages going and growing. His strength can keep parents and children unified and understanding. Like make you whole. You don’t need alcohol or marijuana or crack to give you a thrill. You don’t have to be the most popular or the most beautiful or the most ripped to be someone special. You don’t have to be powerful or prosperous or promiscuous. And you don’t have to stay in your pain and fear and depression. God is able to heal you and make you worthy and valuable and whole. Like able to make his servants successful. It may look like we will fail at the tasks God gives us. But it’s the Lord’s ability that powers us so we can do Kingdom work – love every kind of person we encounter, minister to people’s deepest needs, and help unbelievers meet Christ. Like save and renew a sinner. With the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, God has overcome the rebellion that keeps you separated from him and the life you were created to live. God, and only God, can lift you out of the darkness and judgment and put you in his Kingdom of light and joy and transform you from the inside out. God is able to save you.
If you understand that and believe that, what are you going to do? How are you going to act? Are you going to keep whining and worrying? Are you going to keep trying to take care of yourself? Are you going to continue to demonize people who are different from you so you will feel secure? Are you going to put your hopes in a worldly, nationalistic kingdom so you think you are protected? Are you going to keep playing it safe? Are you going to fear and surrender? Because God is able, you can trust him with everything. You can take every need to him and accept whatever answer he gives. You can follow his directions, even when they don’t seem to make sense and when they seem to put you at risk. Because God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, you can live by faith in him. That’s a higher level of living than the rest of the world, for sure. It’s a whole different track than most people are on.
But there needs to be something more. You see, there’s a danger that we will think God’s ability is just for our benefit, just for our blessing, just to make us feel better, just to improve our living standards. We can become very selfish with God’s greatness. We can think that living by faith is a way to get what we want from God. And that makes it idolatry. So there has to be something else.
That something else is really the main point of these two verses: “to him be glory.” God is able. To God be glory. Since God has the power to do far more than we can even imagine, let us glorify him forever. Let his greatness, his awesome power, be shown in us so that he is exalted, honored, and thanked. He becomes the center of attention instead of us. Life stops revolving around us and our needs, wants, and opinions. Life gets centered on the Awesome God. To him be glory.
How do we go about doing that? Paul has already mentioned a key way in Ephesians 1:12 – “praise of his glory.” Glory goes to God when we praise him. Let’s be a praising people. Let’s be clear and passionate in giving praise to God. Let’s every one of us sing his praises. Let’s every one of us tell his praises. In our private worship, in our families, in our churches, out in our communities. Let praise to the Lord come from our hearts and minds and mouths so God will be glorified. Once I was leading a Thanksgiving service and asked people to share how God had worked in their lives. Many did. One man stood and said God had been with his family, had guided and strengthened them. Later I found out he told someone how hard it was for him to do that, to stand up and speak to the crowd, but he had to. Yes, even when it’s hard, let’s praise God.
Even in hard times. Especially in hard times. Let’s be a praising people glorifying God when things are tough because in those rough circumstances God is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.
In the hard times. When there are more bills than dollars. When there are more pressures than rewards. When it seems every teacher in your school is against you and your best friend moved away and your parents can’t understand you if they tried. When a dreaded disease gnaws into your body. When old age takes over every muscle and joint and every brain cell (and it feels like rigor mortis is already setting in). When your children reject the beliefs and values you’ve tried to give them. When your spouse finds someone else. When death kidnaps people you love. When the world says, “Keep your stupid religion to yourself.” Not because those things are so great – they are not – but because God is so great, in the hard times, praise him.
Can we do that? Paul, the guy that wrote this, did. With his buddy Silas, chained to a wall in a dark, damp, filthy dungeon in the town of Philippi. Both half dead from a public whipping. Paul turned to him and said, “Hey, Si, let’s praise.” And they sang until the house came down (Acts 16:22-34).
Can we do that? A woman named Janice did. She was at a women’s retreat when she received a phone call. Her son had been in a motorcycle accident and might not make it. As she drove home many thoughts flooded her mind but one was especially strong: “Praise God, praise him in all things, praise him!” Janice arrived home and soon her husband came from the hospital. Their son had died. She spoke out loud: “I praise you, Jesus.” (This is beyond my imagination!) Now, this wasn’t the first time Janice praised God. She started long before and it had become a way of life. Sopping up grape juice the kids spilled, caring for her aging parents, dealing with sicknesses and disappointments and blue Mondays, she praised God. The night after her son died, Janice prayed for assurance and God said to her, “I have your son…and you have mine.” Her praise became even stronger and more joyful, glorifying God who is able to overcome even death and give indestructible and eternal life to his people.
We can praise him. When we look up out of our worries and miseries and complaints that aren’t anywhere as great as God’s plans for us, and when we set our hearts on awesome God, we can praise him. We can live an abundant life with peace and joy and victory. When the enemy is threatening us, whatever form that may take, and when God is challenging us, we can stand confident and strong, praising awesome God. (Listen to Casting Crowns sing PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM)
Look up. Understand God is able. Believe, trust. Understand the glory is his. Praise him.
Praise is part of what “to him be glory” means. There’s more, and I’ll get into that in my next post.
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