“Now, to the one who has power to work far beyond all things which you can ask or comprehend according to the power that is at work in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations to the ages of the ages, amen.”

(Ephesians 3:20-21)

And so Paul closes this section of his letter with one of the glorious doxologies of Scripture. It is to God that the glory belongs both in the church and in the work of Christ, and it is God who is working in us in ways that we cannot comprehend — even more wonderfully than we can ask. And so, to that, we say with Paul, “Amen!”

But, as with so many things, saying this or reading this, is often easier said than done. Truly, when all things are going our way, perhaps, but when we are struggling through fears, grief, loss, or other trials, that is an entirely different matter. Indeed, if God is able to work far beyond what we can ask or comprehend, why does he often do what we ask for and can comprehend? The answer is often a bitter pill to swallow, but it is precisely because God is able to do that for which we cannot ask and cannot understand that he does so. His ways, most ultimately, are good.

That is not always an easy position to get to…at least emotionally…but it is the only place we will find peace in the midst of turmoil. We are not the adults who have all things figured out — there is a great deal we cannot comprehend about God’s perfect plan. We are the children standing on the ledge of the swimming pool needing to learn to trust our Father who calls out to us from the deep end, “Follow me!” At first, the deep water looks frightful and intimidating, but we will never fully understand the ability of the strong hands of our Father to keep us afloat until we let go of our fears and trust him enough to jump. The saying is easy; the doing is often quite another thing. Yet, until the doing is done, we will not utter the hearty “Amen!” with the Apostle.