Don’t you just love those words? They’re just full of power and might. It’s as if Paul is running out of superlatives to describe God and His abilities. And to use the words about anyone else would be not just grammatically incorrect, but a lie. Only about the Lord could you use a phrase like “exceedingly abundantly.”
The word “abundance” is one of my favorite words to describe God, because it applies to so much: His love, His forgiveness, His blessings on us… I have a friend who says that God does things “over the top!” Even life itself, Jesus wants us to have in abundance.
But here, Paul is adding “exceedingly” to it. This is a word that means “surpassing”, “extremely,” or “beyond the limit of.” I can’t even wrap my brain around the concept of “beyond the limit of” abundance! Only God, only God, only God! I don’t understand it, and the fact that I don’t fills me with joy.
And what is Paul speaking of here, that is exceedingly abundant? I don’t know.
Paul tells us that God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all we think or ask,” so no matter what I come up with, it’s not enough. Any miracle, blessing, joy or gift I can think of that the Lord might bestow is, by definition, falling short of what He is able. And that power, works in me.
I think that’s marvelous. No ~ wonderful! No, no, I’ve got it: stupendous!
Light Expectations 