Exceedingly Abundantly

^“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” –Ephesians 3:20-21

Ephesians 3:20-21 is my verse for 2013.  I didn’t select this verse, but God did.  He showed me this verse on December 30, 2012, during a sermon preached by our pastor, leading us into the new year.  I had read that verse countless times before, but it never struck me the way it did on that day.  God impressed upon my heart that this would be my verse, applied by God, for 2013.

 

On that day, I had no idea what this might look like for me in 2013.  The words “exceedingly abundantly” were the words that really stood out, as if they were spoken aloud in bold font.  Many people claim a word for each new year, a word they believe God has shown them to be the focus of the upcoming year.

 

Words like:

• intentional
• grace
• love
• forgiveness
• diligent

 

Those are just a few of the popular words people have claimed for 2013.

 

For me, God gave me the words “exceedingly abundantly” for 2013.  He probably selected two words for me because I have such a hard time narrowing things down to just one word. :-)  And “exceedingly abundantly” implies far greater abundance than the lone word “abundantly”.  To remove “exceedingly” would be to rob God of how abundantly He planned (plans!) to bless us for 2013!

 

I had no idea what these words would mean for 2013, nor how they might affect my life.

 

If I had tried to dream up what those words might look like specifically for me in 2013, I would have fallen so short of what God had planned for my 2013.  That’s exactly what this verse says!  “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…”

 

It’s only March, just three months into this new year, but He has already done exceedingly abundantly above all that I could ask or think.

 

Exceedingly.

 

Abundantly.

 

Above all that I could ask or think.

 

Exceedingly abundantly doesn’t even begin to describe all that He has already done specifically in my life in just the first three months of 2013.

 

My description of all that He has already done would pale in comparison to the reality of what this verse looks like for our family in 2013.  I would be doing Ephesians 3:20-21 an injustice by trying to describe what exceedingly abundantly looks like for us.

 

Love beyond our ability to fathom.

 

Joy beyond our ability to fathom.

 

Peace beyond our ability to fathom.

 

Kindness beyond our ability to fathom.

 

Goodness beyond our ability to fathom.

 

Faithfulness beyond our ability to fathom.

 

Possibilities beyond our ability to fathom.

 

Financial provision beyond our ability to fathom.

 

In a nutshell, God’s provision for 2013 has been exceedingly abundantly above all we could even dare to imagine. 

 

One of the unexpected ways God has lived out exceedingly abundantly in 2013, is that He has blessed us with helpers.  We didn’t even realize that we needed helpers.  Or wanted helpers.  Or would ever have helpers.  Above all we could ask or think.  Helpers to come alongside our family to bless us exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think.  And guess what?  One of our helpers moved in with us this weekend!!!

 

Exceedingly abundantly.  I told you so!

 

It is my pleasure to introduce you to KJ:

 

KJ is like a daughter to us.  We’ve known her for about seven years.  Back when we met her at church years ago, when she was just in junior high, we had no idea she would eventually live with us!  Exceedingly abundantly.

 

Everyone in our family loves KJ.  She is an amazing helper who loves the kids and jumps in to help at every opportunity.  Nothing intimidates KJ!  What an unexpected blessing for 2013!

Blessing beyond measure.

 

Exceedingly abundantly.

 

To Him be the glory.

 

Thank you, Jesus!