God’s power: It has no limits

HE’S infinitely able Don’t assign any limits to God’s power

By Roxanne Drury

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” – Ephesians 3:20

We serve a God who has no limits. Think about that for a moment: no limits!

I read a little story once about a boy who was out fishing. He was standing right on the very edge of the river, casting out his fishing line. An older gentleman was a short distance away...watching. All of a sudden, the little boy felt a tug on his line. He pulled and released, pulled and released, and out of the water came a 12-inch-long bass.

The older gentleman quickly ran over to the little boy to share in his excitement, only to find the little boy unhooking the fish and throwing it back into the river. The older man, wide-eyed, said, “What are you doing? You just caught a whopper. Why on earth did you throw it back in the river?”

The little boy looked up at the older man and said, “My frying pan is only 9 inches wide.”

Sometimes, I think we are like that little boy. God is trying to bless us, He is trying to provide us with God-sized opportunities, but our minds only see a 9-inch frying pan. This is where faith and obedience come in. God wants us to use the power we have in Him to rise above that kind of limited thinking.

I firmly believe if God has placed something on your heart to do, He will make a way for you to do it. Whatever it is may seem unlikely, or it may seem outlandish, and we can easily come up with dozens of reasons not to pursue it. But if God placed that desire, idea, dream or opportunity on your heart, who are we to say, “Oh no, that can’t happen”? You know who put those words in your head – the one who wants to thwart God’s work. WARNING! Don’t believe it!

God has placed great potential inside of you. He has big plans for you. If you don’t believe it, read Jeremiah 29:11. God’s plans come with all you need to accomplish them.

I love this quote from Erma Bombeck: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and that I could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.” When we use what God has blessed us with for His glory, to further His kingdom, somehow it just exponentially increases. I have seen it happen.

For example, at our church we have a staff team of just five very committed, very gifted ladies on our Children’s Ministry Team. They love the Lord and serve with a full heart for God and kids. Sunday after Sunday, week after week, their whole focus is on making sure all 600 kids have a good time and learn about Jesus – and they do! Many, many children have come to know Jesus as Savior through the women’s efforts and the use of their God-given talents. And

each week we see more and more children coming to the church. That is our increase. You see, God does not want us to sit on the sidelines. He wants us in the game. One time, Jesus invited His disciples into the game. Jesus appeared to his disciples near the Sea of Tiberias. Seven of the disciples had gone out to fish. That night they caught nothing. When they came back in the morning, Jesus was on the shore and called out to them, but they didn’t know it was Him. Jesus asked, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” And of course the answer was, “No.” So Jesus gave them another opportunity to Roxanne Drury fish. He told them to go back out in the water and throw their nets on the right side of the boat. When they did (out of obedience and trust), they were unable to haul the net in because there were so many fish in it. They weren’t just little fish either. The Bible describes them as large fish – 153 of them in all. The story goes on to relate how they ate a nice, hot breakfast of – what else? – cooked fish (John 21:1-14). The disciples got in the game. They obeyed and tried again even though they had just come back from a night of fishing without catching anything. And what happened? They got more fish than they could have ever imagined. Was that because they were expert fishermen? After all, it was their job. No. It was because they saw an opportunity. They held fast to what could be – the possibilities. When they went back out on the boat the second time, they weren’t even sure it was Jesus that gave the instruction. There is a lesson there as well. Sometimes, we are not sure if the direction is from the Lord. What we might find is that we are not really sure until we see that the net is full. Remember those powerful words found in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” God’s power in you will allow you to do those things that He asks you to do, those things He planned for you. Not some of the things. ALL things. Why? Because He has no limits. The one thing those disciples knew how to do was fish. But even they couldn’t fish that day without God’s help. I am of the belief that God wants to open the floodgates of blessing in our lives, in our churches, in our homes, in our schools, at our workplaces. He wants to accomplish through each of us way more than we could ever ask, dream, hope or imagine. He calls us to trust Him. He calls us to get in the game. And we can – because He can! He has no limits except the ones we place on Him. n Roxanne Drury is a wife, mother, grandmother, and retired Christian preschool teacher with a teaching certificate in Early Childhood Education. She has served the Lord in children’s ministry for over 40 years and is currently on staff at Rockharbor Church.

Maryanna Young Continued from page 21

Her grandmother was Mary Oppel, a woman who walked for her health every day, long before it was popular to do so. In 1993, Mary took first place in an 80-and-over division of the Women’s Fitness Celebration – even after completing heart bypass surgery. (Maryanna launched the Women’s Fitness Celebration in 1993 and was the co-director until 1999.) “My parents were great about living their faith, and my grandparents as well,” she said, further stating they all ran their businesses the way they lived their lives: with solid Christian values.

Her favorite Scripture, Ephesians 3:20, reads: “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...”

Her guiding principle is: “No matter what’s in front of you, just keep running with it and find a way to get it done.”

Tenacity is part of her makeup, but she doesn’t take credit for it. “God has given me the special ability to persevere. It’s easier to give up in our own strength.”

Maryanna may seem to live the proverbial charmed life – and in many ways she does – but she’s also known problems common to all humanity. She cared for her father for many years in her own home as he battled dementia; he passed away in June of 2021. She currently cares for her mother, who struggles with mobility issues due to a back condition.

When she hit a rough road in keeping Aloha Publishing flourishing, she faced daunting financial challenges. “Keeping the business rolling from 2010 to 2019 was a long process. We hung by a thread; I was paying people out of my grocery money. I call this business ‘one long decade to overnight success’. It doesn’t just come from me. I love the authors we work with and our team here at Aloha,” she said. “Once I applied the creative innovation which was the core of my coaching and sports work to the publishing industry, it’s been much more fun and meaningful.”

Her sports background made her a team player, and she is aware of the value of working with others to complete a project. She can see gifting and potential in her team and works to find the role that fits each person best. She also believes that nothing she has accomplished in life was born from her own solitary efforts. She gives God His due credit, saying, “My story is way more than I could have done on my own.” n

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REAL Man’s Toolbox It’s all about timing – God’s timing

By Leo Hellyer

Most of us will periodically reflect upon our lives and examine where we are compared to where we would like to be. These reflections could be related to career, family, finances, relationships, health, or our Christian walk. Our lives are continually changing. In fact, many people are quick to point out that the only thing constant about our lives is change.

How we handle many events depends greatly on the timing of those events. If the timing is not convenient to us, we have a tendency to look at these occurrences as negatives, a storm in our lives. As we face the “storms” of life, even when they happen at the worst possible time, we need to remember that God is in control. God is always with us and for us and always has a plan for our lives and our future. Our lives should not be controlled by what direction the wind blows or by what distractions may be happening at any particular time.

Unfortunately, we miss out on great opportunities for life change – or for changing lives – because we are waiting for everything to fall into place and be perfect. So often we have our eyes and our hearts on the wrong thing. God sets up divine appointments for us to exercise the gifts that He has given to us. Most often, at least in my life, these divine appointments have occurred at times that have not been the best for me. It is not about us. It is about being obedient to God, and it is about those He wants us to minister to.

We need to be men of integrity, men who are not swayed when events change, men who follow God’s direction, even when it is not convenient. In other words, men who follow God’s direction by faith, even when it might be an inconvenience to us. We need to trust God in His timing. We need to not get impatient with God when He doesn’t do something exactly when we want Him to. We also should be willing to step out in faith as God leads, instead of dragging our feet until we feel that everything is perfect before we take action.

We really need to be able to wrap our heads and our hearts around the fact that God’s timing is always perfect, and ours isn’t.

Jeremiah speaks to us in Jeremiah 29:11-12 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

Some of the greatest blessings that have happened in my life have not been on my schedule, but they were on God’s schedule for me. Quite often God doesn’t give us all of the details about what is coming in our lives because He wants us to depend on Him. We don’t know what God really has scheduled for us.

Regardless of what seems to be delaying our plans, God is actually the one who is in charge. He is the one who is in control. He is the one who is guiding you on the journey that He has you on. He is the timekeeper. Many times our timing and God’s timing are not the same because we are distracted by other things in our lives, and God is waiting on us to pay attention to what He wants us to focus on. While we are focused on the distractions in our lives, we are missing out on the blessings that God has for us in his perfectly designed plan. Giving too much attention to worldly things instead of godly things can simply make us tired. We need to get to the point spiritually Leo Hellyer where we refuse to be controlled by the agendas of others and become obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. There are many things that can distract us from the agenda that God has for us. Most of these things are under disguise from Satan himself. When we go through storms and detours in our lives, God is diligent to lead us back to the right course. Through whatever detours we face, whatever distractions we experience, God’s timing is perfect, and He is in control. He has the plan. He has the power. Waiting on anything is difficult for most of us, but waiting on the Lord is a true sign of wisdom and obedience. Isaiah reminds us of our need to wait upon the Lord in Isaiah 40:31 – “But they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” David also knew about the importance of waiting on the Lord. Psalm 27:14 reads, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.” Unfortunately many times we have the attitude of, “I know what I want, and I want it now!” God definitely has a different plan for us. God selects the correct path, direction, and timing of any course of action that He has for us. We still have the choice to be obedient and follow Christ – or we can do our own thing and see how that works out. Let’s do our very best to be responsive and obedient to the Lord and His direction in our lives. God will reward us for our obedience. n Leo Hellyer is a non-staff pastor with a local church and has been married to his wife Norma for more than 45 years. The couple volunteered with the Boise FamilyLife Ministry Team for 20 years. Leo has also been serving with Boise Rescue Mission Ministries for 20 years and is currently serving at the River of Life Rescue Mission. He is president and chief firearms instructor with Helping Hands Firearms Training LLC. If you have questions about Real Man’s Toolbox, or need other assistance, Leo may be reached at silverplate426@msn.com or 208-340-5544.