Beyond All I Could Ever Ask or Imagine
When God pours out, it’s never a trickle—it’s exceeding abundance.
📚 Devotional Credit:
Day by Day by Grace by Bob Hoekstra
📸 Photo Credit:
Unsplash
Today’s verse, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…” (Ephesians 3:20), reminds me how often I come to the Lord with small containers of expectation when He is offering an ocean of grace. God’s promises throughout Scripture are already staggering—global blessing through Abraham, miraculous deliverance from Egypt, eternal kingship through David, a gentle and righteous Messiah, and a covenant that forgives, transforms, and brings us into intimacy with Him. How could I ever think or ask beyond that?
Yet Paul says God is not just able—He is able exceedingly abundantly beyond even those unmatched promises. The human mind can’t comprehend it. It’s as though God wants me to know: “Yes, even what you haven’t dared to imagine—I’m already there, working it out in grace.”
This is no invitation to dream selfish dreams. It’s a call to sink deep roots into the bedrock of God’s revealed will—His Word—and trust that even the promises I do understand are only scratching the surface of His goodness. When I pray in line with His promises, I’m not twisting His arm—I’m simply catching up to what He already delights to do.
His ability is not limited by my understanding, nor His generosity by my asking. He gave His Son. He gave His Spirit. He gave Himself. So when I come before Him in quiet moments, it’s not with anxiety, but with anticipation—not pleading for what might be, but standing in awe of what already is.
📓 Personalized Journal Entry — Voice of the Holy Spirit through Scripture:
Beloved, you cannot out-dream Me. You cannot overestimate My generosity. Every promise I have made finds its Yes in Christ. You have been joined to Him, and in Him, all things are yours—not by effort, but by union. You stand in grace, not striving for a better outcome, but resting in an eternal reality.
Before you formed a thought, I formed a purpose. Before you made a plan, I made a covenant. I called Abraham to be a blessing to the nations. I raised up David to point to a greater King. I anointed My Servant, gentle and lowly, to usher in the covenant of grace. In Him, your sins are remembered no more. In Him, you know Me—not as a distant deity, but as Father. In Him, I’ve written My ways upon your heart, not by command but by communion.
And still, I go beyond. Not only do I fulfill the Word I’ve spoken—I overflow it with My presence in you. I live in you to will and to do of My good pleasure. So do not measure what I can do by what you can imagine. Instead, yield yourself to Me moment by moment, and let Me show you how exceedingly abundant My life through you can truly be.
(Scripture references: Ephesians 3:20; Genesis 12:2–3; Exodus 3:17; Deuteronomy 1:30; 2 Samuel 7:16; Isaiah 11:1–2; Isaiah 42:3, 6; Jeremiah 31:33–34; Romans 8:32; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Philippians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 3:21–23)
🌾 Real-Life Analogy:
Imagine reaching into your kitchen cabinet for a cup, expecting to pour yourself a glass of water—and instead, discovering a firehose of clean, cold water is already running full blast from the faucet. You pause in disbelief as it splashes and rushes, far more than your small cup could hold. That’s what it’s like when we come to God with limited expectations and discover He’s already flooding our lives with the fullness of His promises.
As you go through your day, you might anticipate an ordinary interaction, a routine task, or a brief prayer. But pause—yield. You might whisper, “Lord, this moment is Yours. Live Your life through me here.” Whether you’re offering an encouraging word to a co-worker, or patiently handling a repeated frustration, know that His capacity far exceeds the confines of your expectation. Trust the overflow.
🙏 Prayer of Confidence:
Father, You are not a God of barely enough. You are the Giver of immeasurably more. In Christ, You’ve already provided every spiritual blessing, and today I rest in that abundance. I don’t need to strain for what’s already mine in You. Thank You for the promises You’ve fulfilled and the ones I haven’t even dreamed of yet. I receive today not as a series of unknowns to fear, but as a series of opportunities to witness Your grace at work in and through me. I trust You to exceed my understanding, and I yield to Your indwelling life—now and always.