When I reflect on the deep and true love of God for each of us, I continue to be in awe and my spirit becomes uplifted.
And troubles that I may be facing at the time, suddenly seem to me of little importance in light of this awesome truth.
Look at Ephesians 3:18-20 (Amplified Bible) to better understand this love.
It reads: “That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];
[That you may really come] to know [practically, [a]through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses [b]mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] [c]unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and [d]become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]."
Think for a moment about your highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes and dreams, God is able to do above even those things.
Sometimes we struggle with a sense of need for spiritual motivation. We are aware of certain failures which have occurred in the past year, even though we began this year with the best of intentions. Somehow things have not gone quite as we expected. We haven't been able to do just what we determined to do. So we are asking ourselves, "How can I do better? How can I motivate myself really to do what I know I ought to do?"
The answer is to meditate on the vast love of God for each of us.
God has picked us up, cleaned us up and presented us worthy as forgiven sinners, when we didn't deserve a thing. God sent his son Jesus to walk among us to die on a cross for the forgives of our sins and the sins of all generations in the future. He was the perfect and lasting sacrifice for you and I.
This was done because of God's love for us. Is there a better gesture of love?
The late Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones once said, "Have you been feeling sorry for yourself, and somewhat lethargic in a spiritual sense? Have you been regarding worship and prayer as a task? Have you allowed the world, the flesh or the devil to defeat you and to depress you? The one antidote to that is to meditate upon and to contemplate this love of Christ.”
We also must remember the Apostle Paul was accustomed to asking God for extravagant blessings on behalf of his Christian readers. He often petitioned God for spiritual blessings of extraordinary value, including the request that they might be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. When we pray, we should pray boldly as Paul did.
Of course, Paul also lived boldly for Christ. Perhaps often times we do not pray boldly, because our lives are 'bald' and lacking faith and not 'bold' and filled with confident faith.
Be blessed.
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