A PUMPKIN IN A JUG
A group of fourth-graders crowded around Mrs. Palmer, our teacher, as she smashed a gallon jug with a hammer. Her actions culminated an experiment we began weeks earlier. Mrs. Palmer had placed a pumpkin seed in a small-necked clear jug with the proper amount of water. She then placed the jug on a table receiving lots of sunlight. Several times each day, we checked the plant’s progress. Then one morning we discovered a tiny green sprout emerging from the cracked seed. The vine grew—a whitish, green tone. Its roots filled the jug, until there was no space left.
After a few weeks, with hammer in hand, our teacher tapped the jug with just enough oomph to break the glass. We gasped as we noted the pumpkin’s form—exactly the shape of the jug. Mrs. Palmer explained that the jug had prevented the vine from achieving its true growth potential. She placed it in soil, and by the end of the day, the plant had expanded. It continued to thrive in its new environment.
Like that pumpkin, at times we create barriers preventing God’s power from working in us. But God’s supernatural power is limitless. In Ephesians 3:19, Paul prays that we “may be filled with all the fullness of God.” In verse 20 he adds that God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (NKJV).
Let your imagination run wild. Daydream about all the possibilities of what God can do. God is not only able to do all that we can imagine, or more than we imagine, or even exceedingly more. Paul says God can do exceedingly abundantly more. His grammar takes the form of a child: “Humongous, fantastical, ginormous!” God is showing us that there ain’t nothin’ he can’t do!
Think of what you’re going through right now. Do you feel stuck—unable to move ahead? At times, my lack of faith places the Almighty in a jug. Or a sense of shame convinces me that I’m not worthy. My fears and doubts limit the power of God. It’s time to throw away the barriers in our thinking. In order to be all that God intends for me, in order to fulfill my destiny, I need to break the jug, and like that pumpkin seed, let God’s power burst forth with no limits.
Principle: Let’s throw off the barriers that limit God’s power from working in our lives.
Ponder:
In what specific ways do you limit the power of God from working in your life?
How can you break the glass jug, and thrive in the destiny God has for you?
Pursue: For a deeper dive, study Ephesians 3:14-21.
Prayer: Almighty God, reveal to me the ways that I limit your power in me. Give me the faith and courage to “break those jugs.”
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