By Dianna Hobbs
I couldn’t figure out why my laptop wasn’t charging the other day. I had it plugged in for hours. I was baffled by the pop-up messages informing me that the battery was “critically low” and my device was about to shut down on me.
Me and my technology troubles, I thought.
In the middle of scratching my head in puzzlement, a message flashed across a white screen. It said, “The AC power adapter wattage and type cannot be determined. The battery may not charge. The system will adjust the performance to match the power available.”
“Oh!” I said aloud. I remembered this happened a few weeks ago. At that time, my husband Kenya helped me understand that I had mistakenly mixed up my AC adapter power cords and put the old laptop charger into my new computer. And my new machinery requires more wattage to operate than the old one. That charger cord simply wasn’t powerful enough to get the job done.
Looked like that time around I had made the exact same mistake.
Whoops!
Well, when I located the right adapter and switched the cords out, voila! Everything was just dandy again and I prepared to return to work.
Problem solved. Shutdown averted.
But then, after getting back up and running, I couldn’t focus on what I was doing anymore. For some reason, the last sentence in that error message jumped out at me, demanding my attention.
So I read it again: “The system will adjust the performance to match the power available.”
I perfectly understood what it meant after having my laptop almost die. Yet, there was a greater lesson in it for me that day beyond the importance of not mixing up my charger cords. I thought more in depth about it.
It didn’t matter that my laptop was plugged into a power source if it wasn’t the right power source. The cord I was using to strengthen my battery and give it enough life to keep the computer going wasn’t strong enough for the task. And my system’s poor performance was merely a reflection of the insufficient power the cord supplied. But when I hooked the device up to a more powerful source, its performance level significantly increased.
Then my mind made the spiritual connection. I realized the Holy Spirit was teaching me something supernatural in that very natural, ordinary moment. Sometimes, we rely on everything (and everybody) else to keep us going. But what about God?
We use caffeine, motivational books and speeches, a long conversation with a confidante, personal pep talks, retail therapy, massages, long baths, long walks, or even a little rest and relaxation to recharge us. Those things do have temporary pick-me-up capabilities. But no one and nothing has enough power to sustain us, and give us strength to carry out our divine purpose on earth, but God.
From this laptop cord mix-up, the Lord led me to Ephesians 3:20 that says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
This is the kind of power you want working in your life. That’s why I believe you’re here. You know you’re going to be directed straight to the real power source: God. I believe that you have determined in your heart that everyone else can have the momentary personal pick-me-ups. But you? You want more. You want to see God do above and beyond the ordinary.
And He’s going to do it. This is His message for you.
Ephesians 3:20, which is a well-known and well-loved scripture in the Bible, ought to make you excited. Many enjoy referencing this biblical prayer Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesian church for good reason. It reminds us all that God can do over and beyond the things we imagine in our hearts, and minds. This beautiful and soul-stirring pronouncement of God’s greatness in prayer-form perfectly encapsulates how powerful God is to accomplish His work through us.
In the verses leading up to this prayer in Ephesians 3, Paul is speaking about how the Lord’s magnificent plan for the Gentiles was revealed to him after he was converted through a divine encounter on the road to Damascus (See Acts 9). God showed him that Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection is the means by which all nations can be saved, regardless of background. Everyone can reap the rewards that were once only reserved for the Israelites, God’s chosen people.
In a portion of verse 6, Paul says it this way: “…the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
That’s good news for us, amen?
We no longer have to carry out any religious ceremonial rites in order to have rights to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). No one is required to fulfill the strict regulations of Old Testament law to obtain forgiveness of sins and favor with God. We have our inheritance through Jesus. By God’s grace, manifested through His son, we need only believe in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross. Then we are made right with God and aligned with His will. We are in position to reap the earthly benefits of adoption into the Royal Family, while ever keeping an eye on our ultimate reward, which is eternal life.
And today, as Paul explained in Ephesians, you and I are the Lord’s church, which is a reflection of God’s glory and a manifestation of His wisdom. We show the world, as well as the demonic “authorities in the heavenly realms,” which the apostle references in the text, what the wisdom and work of God looks like.
Though Paul was suffering when he wrote Ephesians 3, he told the Ephesian church not to be discouraged (Ephesians 3:13), but rather, to focus on this amazing privilege of enjoying the benefits of adoption. He wanted the church at Ephesus, just as we should, to ruminate on the wonderfulness of being able to demonstrate God’s glory and the fact that it is all made possible “according to the power that works in us.”
Therein lies the key: our power source is amazing and endless. Friend, the Omnipotent One makes you unstoppable. This is what gives you your confidence. Despite the obstacles before you, the One within you has supplied you with all you need to overcome them — and you will overcome.
When the odds are stacked against you, the One that’s IN you is greater! By His power, all things are possible.
You are and will remain a beacon of light to the world, and come against the forces of darkness. Even if you are going through hard times right now, that’s okay. You won’t lose hope when Paul’s prayer is ringing in your spirit. It puts you in constant remembrance of the life-altering truth that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
His power is working through you. And unlike the limited power supply of my old charger cord, He is all-sufficient, Christ, the conquering Savior, abides within and because you are connected, through Him, all things are possible for you.
The Lord has equipped you to be productive. You will bear positive fruit in your life. The Lord’s hand is upon you this very day, causing doors to open, ways to be made, disease to be banished, mountains to be flattened, and enemies to be subdued.
Yes, His anointing power is working in you at this precise moment. He will do everything He has set out to do in your life — as long as you don’t disconnect from Him. That Ephesians 3:20 type of favor, where God does immeasurably more than you can ask or think, manifests in you when you are plugged into not just any power source, but the Ultimate Power Source.
To remind you that when you remain connected to Christ, the vine, you will produce righteous, God-glorifying fruit in your life, I’m stirring John 15:5 ESV into your cup of inspiration. They are the words of Jesus. He explains, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, remember that your connection to the vine causes you to be blessed, favored and an heir of wonderful promises. You are special. You are powerful, not on your own, but through Christ, who lives inside of you. Regardless of what you face, you can draw from the power source within to overcome any obstacle that’s in your way.
The Lord, who is fueling your purpose and empowering you, is going to exceed your wildest expectations.
Get ready for exceedingly abundant blessings to show up in your life.
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