Today's Encouragement

Thirteen Words That Changed My Life

WENDY POPE

“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.” Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)


That night did not differ from most other nights. I’d cooked dinner and cleaned up before my husband got home from work. Our kids, bathed and in their jammies, had gone to sleepy town already when Scott walked through the door. We exchanged our usual “How was your day?” banter before he headed upstairs to his man cave.

The words I’d rehearsed all day were playing like a symphony in my head. It was time to have a talk with my man.

Things had been silent between us for far too long. Something had to change. His overtime kept him away from our family. Our children and I needed him home more, and I decided it was time to let him know he needed to make some changes. I was poised and prepared for every comeback he could hurl at me — every comeback except one.

My heart pounded as I entered the room. I sheepishly sat down on the floor beside Scott and waited for just the right time to let him know how I was feeling. I asked questions like I was interested in what he was doing. Then, when the forced conversation lulled, I lunged into my lengthy, well-prepared diatribe, ending with what I thought was a showstopper: “You don’t act like you ever want to come home.”

Scott paused for a moment before he spewed a comeback that all my rehearsing didn’t prepare me to hear. Much to my surprise, Scott had the real showstopper: “You don’t make our house a place I want to come home to.”

Hanging in the air were 13 words that changed the course of my life forever.

For days, my emotions fought with Scott’s words. What he’d said messed with me in the worst — and best — way. Eventually the wrestling match ended; the words won. I hadn’t decided yet to agree with my husband, but the thought of his words being remotely true jolted me to my core. After mulling over his words for several days, I had to admit there was truth in it. My heart wasn’t happy, and therefore, my life wasn’t happy, and neither was my home.

I had succumbed to the power of every unmet expectation, unfulfilled dream, unanswered prayer, and unwanted situation. The “I thought God would,” “Why didn’t He?” “I longed for God to,” and “If only” scripts ran on auto-play, feeding my soul. The scripts played louder, and without realizing it, I began operating on autopilot, running life’s race, hurtling from one task to the next, all the while leaving behind an unpleasant atmosphere for those around me.

Facing this realization was very difficult. Desperate to change the trajectory of my life, I turned to God’s Word for new truths, new scripts, and a new way to run life’s race. His Word did not disappoint.

This new way of life started with my yes to God, which cultivated an unbreakable trust-relationship with Him. Then a no to self that revealed the person I was created to be before sin and shame entered my life, as well as truth to help me transform into His image. And it’s a maybe that welcomed freedom to spend my life serving God’s kingdom without being overwhelmed and overcommitted.

My old scripts have been replaced with new truths. These truths will help everyone who believes them experience life anew with the God of immeasurably more, which we find in Ephesians 3:20. “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” — the life every believer was born to live.

Soak in these new scripts, friends. Say to your unmet expectations, “God will superabundantly exceed my expectations.” To your unfulfilled dreams, say, “God will superabundantly surpass my dreams.” Then to your unanswered prayers, “God’s answer will be superabundantly greater than I expect.” And to your unwanted situations, say, “God’s resolution will be superabundantly better than mine.” Let them be the beginning of your “yes, no, and maybe” adventure with the God of immeasurably more.

Oh, and about those 13 words? My husband says that, today, our home is a place he loves to come to.