My BlackBerry, my God and I
I have been using this BlackBerry for over five months now, but I’m not yet fed up with it. Many of its features have become so invaluable that going out without it makes me feel incomplete. I am talking about the instant messaging from my email accounts; the opportunity to browse wherever I go; the […]
I have been using this BlackBerry for over five months now, but I’m not yet fed up with it. Many of its features have become so invaluable that going out without it makes me feel incomplete. I am talking about the instant messaging from my email accounts; the opportunity to browse wherever I go; the word processing facility; it’s camera, audio and video recording facilities; the several games discovered by my little son; the search engines that enable me to access the Bible anywhere, and many other elements I’m yet to discover.
The more I think about my BlackBerry mobile phone, the more I meditate on Ephesians 3:20, 21, which says: “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, forever and ever! Amen.” The catchy clause here, to me, is “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” The word ‘immeasurably’ in this New International Version (NIV) is rendered as “exceeding abundantly,” what I would like to call super-superlative in the use of adjectives in King James Version (KJV). The Greek word which has been so translated is perissos, which means, to be superabundant in quantity or superior in quality; to be in excess, to overflow; to be enough to spare; to exceed; to be beyond measure…
What is Apostle Paul talking about here? He says God can do much more than we can ever ask or imagine! While I was writing this piece, a story came to mind. There was a minister in a Church I used to attend in Lagos. He was very zealous and hardworking, but added to this positive testimony was financial troubles that made him to ask for assistance from church members. I heard recently that God changed his story beyond our imagination. He now has three cars, has built a house in Ikeja in Lagos. He has money in excess to be able to give out N300,000 in assistance to another minister of God. The man is still a minister. He didn’t get this money from church offering, but from a great door that the Almighty has opened for him.
Just as I have not been able to totally conquer my BlackBerry, so also believers cannot exhaust the resources that God has for them. I have always thought that when we get to heaven many of us will gnash our teeth when we discover that we didn’t access the superabundant resources God has for us on earth. King Solomon became rich without measure; Abraham was abundantly rich; the story of Joseph is still a classical example of what God can do to transform the life of any righteous man; the miracle in the life of Job beats the imagination of human beings – he had the opportunity to live twice!
In this New Year, I want us to open wide our expectations from God. Most importantly, we should do those things that will provoke God to fill our cups to overflowing. The secret password is in Malachi 3:10, which says: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” The people of the world say the fastest route to a man’s heart is his belly. If a woman cooks good food, she can easily win a man’s heart. For God, the fastest route to his heart is His House. God opens great doors to those who give unto His work on earth.
Shalom. I wish you a super-abundant, exceedingly great measure of God’s blessing in 2011.
Adogo is a minister with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Mercy Seat Parish, Abuja.