Far More Abundantly
To imagine "far more abundantly: I look to the heavens. The observable limits of the universe appear to be 45 billion light years away, which is far more than we can think. NASA has concluded from data taken from the Hubble space telescope that the universe is expanding faster than previously thought. 95 percent of everything out there does not emit light; it's only dark energy, dark matter, and dark radiation. Genesis 1 tells us the earth was “formless and void,” and that God “separated the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1: 2,4)
When I remember how infinitely massive God’s creation is-- therefore His intelligence, power and ability--far more abundantly now has a context, a framework for my little mind to grasp the tiniest edge of this truth. If the ever-expanding universe is under His control, then I can better appreciate His ability to do far more abundantly for me.
The key of course is the last phrase, "According to the power that works within us." Any power we possess to believe Him is from the Holy Spirit of God who lives within, which leads me to ask: Am I letting the Holy Spirit fill and control me, my choices, my desires, my plans? Is the Holy Spirit who was active in creation, giving life to all living things, giving me life? Am I drawing my strength from Him?
I’ve always been fascinated by the faith of some saints of old, like George Mueller, who ran an orphanage in England and asked God to provide daily bread for the children without letting his need be known to anyone. He decided to depend on God alone and God kindly met those needs George voiced to God in prayer. We read his stories and call it miraculous. And it was. But I always wonder, do we not see God do the same for us because we are so quick to meet our own needs? We live with such abundance do we really depend on Him?