More than we Think or Imagine

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 

for ever and ever! Amen. 

Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV

So this post is going to be really short. I burned my finger this afternoon. I will be fine - but it still hurts and I have about 20 seconds that I can take it off the ice pack before it starts to throb. I am thankful that I did not burn more than one finger. You would not think a burn smaller than a dime would be so painful. 

I'm at my moms this week and we have been having a lot of fun cooking. 

 Everything is low carb with no white flours or sugar. I burned my finger on the waffle type iron that makes the shells for these stuffed Cannoli on the left, a wonderful Italian treat. The cake below is made with coconut flour. My kids said it was good enough to serve company.

Anyway, I am going to quit trying to do this in 20 second bursts or with one hand. 

My son Cai and I went bike riding yesterday down a gravel road and saw these tepee's. There was no one there and it was in the middle of a lot wild land. It almost felt like we were transported back in time. I have a pretty vivid imagination.  We road about 3 miles down a gravel road. We saw deer bounding over the tall grasses when we spooked them. It was a beautiful ride. I'm thankful for my bike and how well it rides on paved streets and gravel. 

Actually this is pretty cool, I have not been able to take my finger off the ice pack for 3 or 4 hours and I started working on this post and it hurt at first and I'd put my finger back on the ice and wait a minute and then type some more  and got to this point and it just stopped hurting. I kind of expected it might hurt for a day or so. At this point the big blister has dried up and I can put pressure on it with out it hurting. So this was immeasurably more than what I imagined. I would tend to say that when we move forward to do the things that God has called us to do even when we face obstacles, that God sees our faith and obedience and meets us at the point of our need.  I needed my finger to stop throbbing so I could type. When I started this post it was painful and not ok and at this point it feels pretty darn good. I will chalk it up to yet another little miracle of grace.  

So I would end this at this point but I feel like there is someone who's reading that is allowing the obstacles that are before you, to keeping you from moving forward with something God has put on your heart to do.  Start moving in God's direction and watch those obstacles fade away to very small things that you will wonder why you ever even worried about them. 

There were 12 spies sent to check out the promised land. Ten came back with amazing reports of what they had seen but looked at the giants and saw them to be a problem that God could not handle. Two guys came back and tried to encourage the people to trust God. Sadly Israel allowed the fear of the giants to be greater than their trust in God. In the end all the folks from that generation died off in the desert wandering over the next 40 years. Only two of that original bunch crossed over into the promised land and they were the 2 guys who trusted God in spite of the obstacles.    

Numbers 13:33

We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

I trust that God is at work in your life, doing immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. 

Maybe some of you will post in the comments and share how God is working in your life. 

Blessings, Margot