Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

The apostle Paul wrote constantly to the Christians in the various churches he had established. The excerpt above is part of his prayer in a letter to the Christians at Ephesus. He was always intense in the emotions he expressed and this portion of his letter is no exception. It flows from his inner being and I get the sense that if he could make it true for each of them he would have done so.

For each of you who have been reading this blog, I want to pray the same prayer for you as we enter the New Year. You cannot be strong as you face life’s challenges unless you are renewed by the Spirit of God each day. The joy of the Lord is your strength and that joy is only imparted by the Holy Spirit. He gives strength to not just cope but to overcome. He gives joy in the midst of pain and loss. He gives peace which surpasses all understanding, keeping you grounded by your faith in Christ – you know whose you are and that you are who God says you are.

There are no words to express the magnitude of God’s love for you. You only know that he expressed it by shedding the blood of his Son for you. You are a treasure to God if you will be sensitive to his Spirit and walk in obedience as he leads you. Paul used breadth, length, height and depth to help us wrap our minds around such a gift. The closest I have come to contemplating it was while standing on the boardwalk and looking up at the expansive sky and out at the Atlantic Ocean. As I did a chorus from childhood played in my head: “Wide, wide as the ocean, deep, deep as the sea; high, high as the heavens above is his love for me.” Rejoice, and let God’s love overwhelm you!