Immeasurably More

Editor’s note: Shauna Shanks suddenly found herself brokenhearted, confused, and struggling to please God in the midst of terrible circumstances – her husband’s infidelity. She shares the story of that messy, painful, traumatic season in A Fierce Love as well as what God miraculously did as she obeyed and trusted in Him. Enjoy this excerpt.

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[He] 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

At some point during the battle for my marriage, my friend Kim and I started sharing our morning devotions with each other. On January 10, she sent me this devotion from Jesus Calling:

Every time you affirm your trust in Me, you put a coin into My treasury. Thus you build up equity in preparation for days of trouble. I keep safely in My heart all trust invested in Me, with interest compounded continuously. The more you trust Me, the more I empower you to do so.

Practice trusting Me during the quiet days, when nothing much seems to be happening. Then when storms come, your trust balance will be sufficient to see you through. Store up for yourself treasure in heaven through placing your trust in Me. This practice will keep you in My peace.1

Already that morning I had read Luke 6:38,

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

I didn’t know how to apply that verse to my own life, since we were just about broke financially. But when Kim sent me the devotion about our trust in God being an investment, I went back to my verse of the day and I read it again, this time having in my mind that giving is applicable not only to money, but also to trust.

“Give [trust to God], and it [whatever you are entrusting to him] will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

I see a picture of the God of nations, sitting on His eternal throne in Heaven, searching the earth, scouring all the tops of human’s heads for someone to stand out, to cause Him to take notice. I picture Him up there watching through the one-way glass of eternity, wondering if anyone will look up from their meaningless routines and think about Him.

Then He spots someone approach the glass, examine it curiously, press her nose up against it, and bang on it, trying to see if there’s something there. I picture God smacking Simon Peter on the arm and chuckling. “Ha!” He would say. “Did you see that one? She’s trying to find Me!”

He sees me searching, trying to find something I can’t see, so He whispers to me. Just a word or two. But I think I hear something. And I move. I act, just like that. And God gets excited again! “Look at her, Peter!” he says. “She can’t even see Me, but she is listening!”

So He communicates more. I listen again, and I start running. God jumps up. “Look at her, Peter! She’s running ahead full force! She trusts Me! She’s not stopping.”

Then I picture all the chatter in Heaven becoming hushed. This eternal God of land and oceans and space and light, gets up off of His throne and stands at the edge of Heaven over earth. He starts sprinkling from a gigantic salt shaker. He is shaking something down on me. It’s my answer. But it’s not my answer. Because I couldn’t even imagine to ask for this! It’s beyond what I even thought to ask for. It’s my provision, my life in the reality that is more real than this world. It’s my blessing! It’s all the good things! And He is sprinkling more than I need. He is sprinkling it until it is “pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

Excerpted with permission from A Fierce Love by Shauna Shanks, copyright Shauna Shanks.

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Your Turn

Are you trusting God in the middle of really painful and harsh circumstances? He sees every step of faith, every moment of trust, every choice to look to Him for help. And, He has immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine in store for you! Come join the conversation on our blog. We would love to hear from you about trusting God! ~ Devotionals Daily