Unlimited
What would you do with unlimited resources?
Would you buy a yacht, plane, or skyscraper? Help eliminate world hunger? Travel the world? Fund cancer research? Ensure that every orphan has a safe place to live? Would you mostly think about yourself, or would think about others?
It’s hard to imagine having no limits. We’re in constant need of food, water, air, and sleep. But unlimited is who God is.
Writing to the first-century church in Ephesus, the apostle Paul said this:
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.”
Ephesians 3:16 NLT
Will you pause for a moment and consider what it means to truly be unlimited? To have every resource imaginable at your fingertips? To never need food. To never get tired. To never get distracted. To never have a single need.
Nothing is too hard for God, and He wants to empower His people.
If you keep reading through the end of the chapter, Paul wants the Ephesians to be empowered with God’s Spirit—by means of His unlimited resources—so that their roots will grow deep, His Spirit will keep them strong, and they’ll be able to experience the depth and fullness of God’s love.
It’s an ongoing mystery why He chooses to use His imperfect people to accomplish His purposes. But that’s exactly what He wants and that’s exactly what He’ll do.
So, when you feel tired or overwhelmed, discouraged, or completely shattered, remember: God’s resources are unlimited. The possibilities are endless. And He specializes in making all things new.
Always Faithful
Every season of life has ups and downs, positive and negative situations. On top of that, there are spiritual powers in this world that are trying to get us to lose hope.
In the midst of difficult seasons, or even persecution, it can be easy to forget that God is still present with us. He does not abandon us in the midst of suffering. Rather, He strengthens us and walks with us through the pain.
The church in Thessalonica experienced a very similar situation. As they were praying for the gospel to spread across their region, they encountered suffering and opposition. Paul writes to the members of these churches to not only encourage them, but to remind them of God’s character.
"But the Lord is faithful, he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one."
2 Thessalonians 3:3
Paul tells them first that the Lord is faithful. This means that God doesn’t change—He is consistent in His character. If He was good and merciful yesterday, He will be good and merciful again today....
“And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us: and let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul. And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. So David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even unto the entering of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjath-jearim. And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjath-jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it. And they carried the ark of ...
There is More
There are plenty of things we can see: trees, stars, mountains, oceans, people, penguins, our best friend's smile, elephants, skyscrapers, coffee beans, sunsets, and tulips, to name a few.
God created all those things. He made the natural world, as well as the laws that govern it.
But there are also things we cannot see: behind the breath of the wind, beyond the depths of the universe, beneath the foundations of love. Through Christ, all things were created—in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16).
And while our mortal eyes might not be able to see the wind or infrared light or the Spirit of God, we still experience their effects. Because there’s more than what meets the eye. There’s more beyond this life.
Paul’s friends, the Corinthians, were experiencing great hardship. They were being hunted and persecuted because of what they believed about Jesus—that He was the long-awaited Messiah. Some were even facing death. But Paul encouraged them to ...