Reckless Imaginations and the God Who Exceeds Them

"We take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

"Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations foever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

I keep thinking I need to keep my promise of "more to come..." that I mentioned in my first post. I do have a story to share in reference to my original question of how God speaks to us. However, I'll have to save it for another time (sorry!) because right now God's theme on my heart continues to be His perfect timing.

If I were a more diligent blogger, I would have already shared how my small group's choice to begin Beth Moore's Breaking Free last Tuesday left me dumbfounded at His purposeful hand in my past, present, and future. I would have shared how I "just happened to run across" Isaiah 54:1 the day before I was repeatedly confronted with the reality that my best friends' babies will probably be old enough to babysit my own. I would have shared how telling a story to my friend Jamie prompted her to say, "That's interesting. I've been praying for you a lot in that area lately." Interesting, yes; coincidence, no way.

This morning I started flipping through Walking with God to try to find the page where I left off on the plane in Africa. (No, I hadn't forgotten the book; I just let a friend borrow it before I was finished.) I read for the second time Eldridge's thoughts on submitting our imaginations to God. In my small group, we constantly strive to remind one another to "think on things that are true" (from Philippians 4:8). It is so easy to let our minds focus on things that are past or imagine events in the future. It is easy to allow our own speculations and perceptions of another's actions cloud our view of their character and our relationship.

Not only does my imagination sometimes hinder my relationships, it also etches a picture in my mind of what I think is best for my future. What a dangerous place it is when we pretend to know what is best! Dangerous because we fail to yield our hearts fully to God's direction. Dangerous because we fight with Him to hold on to our tunnel vision dreams. Dangerous because we stop trusting the only One who can truly be trusted with the future.

I feel like I camp here daily.

Thankfully, God reminded me this morning that He wants to "do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think" (many translations say "ask or imagine"). May I think on this truth and let Him do His unimaginable work in and through me.