Ephphatha!
“He looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (that is, ‘Be opened!’)”
Today is my birthday! To be honest, this day comes with a variety of emotions for me. On one hand - it’s my birthday, which is amazing and fun! On the other - it comes with some lingering apprehension. What’s coming next for me? Will I achieve all the I want to? Am I “far enough along” in life?
Even though my birthday is a fun day, I’m reflecting back on my year and looking forward to the next with a lot of questions. Why did this happen? How come that didn’t happen? When will I start to see progress in this area? What’s next? When does the breakthrough come? What am I supposed to be doing? Am I trusting the process or just getting complacent? I have no idea anymore. But Jesus does.
God has me right where He wants me.
Despite my apprehension and confusion and fear about the next year of my life, God has me just where He wants me. And He has you right where He wants you. He’s positioning you for goodness and victory - just as He positions me for goodness and victory. Regardless of my current view, I can trust that God is faithful, that He is good, and that He loves me more than anything or anyone possibly can. And so can you.
It's this love that prompts Jesus to whisper “Ephphatha!” He speaks to my heart over and over and over again. “Ephphatha!” Be opened! Jesus asks me to open myself and my heart up to Him again and again - year after year, week after week, moment after moment. He asks because He’s good, because He has good plans for my life, and because He loves me. And He loves you. And today, that is enough for me. Today, His love is more than enough for me. Today, He, my God, the I AM is more than enough for me because I know that, at the end of the day, all of my questions don’t need answers nearly as much as my heart needs Him.
Father,
God, thank You. Thank You for loving me, for choosing me. Thank You for blessing each moment of my life and never forgetting about me. Thank You for arranging and rearranging, positioning and repositioning me to serve the purposes You’ve given to me. Thank You for allowing me to rest in Your presence and peace when the uncertainty comes.
God, help me to live in the present moment always. Help me, help us, to enjoy each and every day that we have the privilege of living. Help me to delight in Your presence and to live in gratitude for Your deep, generous heart.
God, we love You. You are more than enough for us. Always. Amen.