sounds like a tough choice, doesn’t it? must be why I’m having so much trouble deciding between the two. Still, I wonder if it could be true – I haven’t been asking God for too much, I’ve been asking Him for too little. The apostle Paul said as much in his letter to the Ephesians when he stated that God –

“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) Paul explains more about this power of God saying –

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:18-21)

Could it be? . . .

Jesus came to offer me the ocean – I’ve been asking Him to make me happy in my mud puddle –

He came to offer me the eternal – I ask only for the temporal

Jesus came to forgive my sins and heal my soul – I ask only for physical healing

Jesus wants to give me heavenly treasures – I ask only for more possessions and worldly success

He came to give me new life – I ask only for improvements to the old one I already have, the life I know, the life I am comfortable with –

I ask too little – not too much. The paralytic did the same thing. His friends carried him on his mat to a house where Jesus was teaching a crowd of people. Then they lowered him, still on his mat, down through the roof until he was right in front of Jesus. They did all this in the hope that Jesus would restore their friend’s ability to walk. But Jesus’s first words to the paralytic were, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Not exactly what he and his friends had in mind when they went to all the trouble of bringing their friend into the presence of Jesus.

However, Jesus continued saying, “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . He said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.” (Luke 5:23-25)

The paralytic asked too little of Jesus. He desired a temporal, physical healing. But Jesus wanted to give him so much more than he asked or imagined was possible. Jesus wanted to grant him forgiveness of his sins, thereby reconciling him to God forever. A gift with eternal consequences.

The Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well certainly asked Jesus for too little. Well, actually, she didn’t think to ask Him for anything at all. Jesus asked her for some water from the well but He had come to offer her living water, to offer her Himself.

“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.’ ” (John 4:10) Then Jesus further explained to her saying,

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

Jesus met her at that well to give to her more than she could think to ask or imagine. Like the paralytic, the woman at the well asked too little of Jesus, not too much. I do that too. I am content to ask for upgrades to my mud puddle because I cannot imagine a holiday at the sea is possible. To experience that, I would have to leave the comfort of my mud puddle behind and risk venturing into the unknown. That would require trust and faith and courage and perseverance. I hear a journey to the sea is not easy but actually can be downright dangerous.

I settle for so little when my Heavenly Father wants to give me so much. He wants to give me Himself, His presence. He tells me as much in John 14:23 when He says,

“Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’ ”

That’s more than I could hope for or imagine and yet it is a promise from my Heavenly Father – His permanent presence. He wants to hang out with me! (actually, to make His home with me) And in His presence are all good gifts in an abundance that I don’t think to ask for because I cannot imagine such things. In my Heavenly Father’s presence I experience joy, peace, comfort, hope, healing, rest, forgiveness, fulfillment, acceptance, purpose, love, the ultimate in being known personally. I experience glimpses of the glory yet to come. Do I dare to believe that He wants to give me more than mere glimpses?

Do you, dear readers? (believe, that is) Do you ask God for too little when He wants to give you so much? I think it’s time I put what God says in Jeremiah 33:3 into practice –

“Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” after all,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

sincerely, Grace Day