“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…” – Ephesians 3:20
The ember months have arrived once again.
For some, they are months of excitement. Christmas is approaching, families are making plans, businesses are preparing for increased activity, and people are looking forward to the end of the year.
For others, however, these months bring painful memories.
Some are asking:
“What have I achieved this year?”
“Why am I still struggling?”
“Why has my prayer not been answered?”
“Why am I still in the same place?”
Perhaps you began the year with great expectations, but somewhere along the way, disappointment, financial pressure, failure, rejection, or unexpected circumstances weakened your vision.
You started the year believing you would grow.
Now, you are simply hoping to survive.
But as you enter these ember months, God is asking you a powerful question:
HOW FAR CAN YOU SEE?
DON’T ALLOW THIS YEAR TO END BEFORE YOUR VISION IS RENEWED
Imagine a farmer standing before a small piece of land.
One person looks at it and says:
“There is not much here.”
But the farmer looks again.
He sees seeds.
He sees crops.
He sees a harvest.
He sees food on tables.
He sees income.
He sees a future.
The land is the same. The difference lies in what each person can see.
Sometimes, your life may look exactly like that land.
You see problems.
God sees possibilities.
You see a small beginning.
God sees growth.
You see an empty account.
God sees provision.
You see a struggling business.
God sees an enterprise that can employ people.
You see an ordinary job.
God sees lives you can influence.
You see a modest institution.
God sees an institution that can bless generations.
Never reduce God’s possibilities to your present circumstances.
WHAT DO YOU SEE BEFORE THE YEAR ENDS?
The ember months are not merely a countdown to Christmas and the New Year.
They are an opportunity to look again.
What if the months remaining in this year are not simply the end of something, but the beginning of something new?
What if God is preparing you for a greater season?
What if the disappointment you experienced was not your final chapter?
What if the door that closed redirected you toward a better one?
What if the little you have today is enough for God to begin something extraordinary?
Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that God is able to do:
“exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
God can work beyond your calculations.
Beyond your resources.
Beyond your experience.
Beyond your expectations.
Beyond what you can presently see.
SOME PEOPLE ARE ONLY SEEING SURVIVAL
There was a man who worked faithfully in an institution.
Every morning, he came to work.
He performed his duties.
He attended meetings.
He solved problems.
At the end of each month, he collected his salary.
One day, someone asked him:
“Where do you see yourself in the next five years?”
He thought for a while and replied:
“Honestly, I just want to survive.”
His problem was not laziness.
His problem was that his circumstances had become greater than his vision.
He could see today’s workload, but not tomorrow’s impact.
He could see his salary, but not his potential.
He could see his difficulties, but not his possibilities.
Perhaps that is where someone reading this tract is today.
You have stopped dreaming.
You have stopped expecting.
You have stopped believing.
You have reduced your prayer from:
“Lord, use me.”
to:
“Lord, just let me survive.”
But God is saying:
“I have more for you than survival.”
THE EMBER MONTHS CAN STILL PRODUCE A HARVEST
Do not write off the remaining months of the year.
A farmer does not abandon his farm because the year is drawing to a close.
He continues to nurture the seed.
He waters it.
He protects it.
He waits.
Because he understands something:
Growth may be invisible before it becomes evident.
Perhaps you have been praying and nothing seems to be happening.
Keep praying.
Perhaps you have been building and nobody notices.
Keep building.
Perhaps you have failed.
Learn and rise again.
Perhaps your business is still small.
Improve it.
Perhaps your institution is struggling.
Strengthen the vision.
Perhaps your career has not progressed as you expected.
Develop yourself.
Perhaps your dream has been delayed.
Do not bury it simply because it has been delayed.
DON’T LET THE YEAR END WITH YOUR POTENTIAL UNDISCOVERED
Some people possess enormous potential but live with a limited vision.
They have ideas that could become businesses.
They have knowledge that could transform lives.
They have leadership abilities they have never developed.
They have books within them that have never been written.
They have innovations that have never been attempted.
They have ministries they have never pursued.
They have dreams they have postponed for too long.
And they keep saying:
“One day.”
But one day can become another year.
Another year can become another decade.
Eventually, the opportunity may pass.
Do not die with what God has placed inside you.
The world may need your idea.
Your family may need your breakthrough.
Your community may need your leadership.
Your generation may need your courage.
Rise. Grow. Build. Become.
STAFF, LEADERS AND PROFESSIONALS: SEE BEYOND YOUR DESK
As these ember months approach, do not look only at what you have accomplished.
Look at who has been affected by your work.
The teacher may see a classroom.
God sees future professionals.
The nurse may see a patient.
God sees a life that needs compassion.
The administrator may see paperwork.
God sees an institution being strengthened.
The leader may see financial challenges.
God sees a stronger organization that can bless generations.
The business owner may see today’s sales.
God sees jobs that can be created tomorrow.
Your work may be greater than your job description.
What appears ordinary in your hands may be significant in God’s plan.
Therefore, serve with excellence.
Lead with integrity.
Work with purpose.
Never allow today’s difficulties to make you blind to tomorrow’s possibilities.
WHAT WILL YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK INTO THE NEW YEAR?
Before the calendar changes, change your vision.
Do not enter another year carrying the same limitations.
Do not say:
“Nothing good can happen to me.”
Do not say:
“This is all I can ever achieve.”
Do not say:
“People like me do not succeed.”
Do not say:
“My past has already determined my future.”
No!
Your past may explain where you have been.
It does not have the authority to determine where God can take you.
You may have started small.
You may have fallen.
You may have been rejected.
You may have lost something precious.
But you are still here.
As long as God has given you life, there is still purpose ahead.
SEE IT BEFORE YOU SEE IT
Faith teaches us to see beyond physical evidence.
Hebrews 11:1 says:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
You may not see the breakthrough yet.
Believe God.
You may not see the harvest yet.
Keep sowing.
You may not see the open door yet.
Keep preparing.
You may not see the institution you envision yet.
Keep building.
You may not see the person you want to become yet.
Keep growing.
Faith does not deny reality. Faith refuses to make reality the final authority.
SO, HOW FAR CAN YOU SEE?
As these ember months unfold, stop for a moment and look beyond today.
Can you see yourself becoming better?
Can you see yourself fulfilling your purpose?
Can you see your family experiencing a better future?
Can you see your business growing?
Can you see your career advancing?
Can you see your institution becoming stronger?
Can you see yourself becoming a blessing to others?
Can you see yourself serving God more faithfully?
Can you see beyond the pain?
Can you see beyond the delay?
Can you see beyond the disappointment?
Can you see beyond the present limitation?
Then begin to move toward what you see.
Vision must become preparation.
Preparation must become action.
Action must become perseverance.
And perseverance, under God’s grace, can produce results.
YOUR BEST DAYS ARE NOT NECESSARILY BEHIND YOU
Perhaps this year did not give you everything you expected.
Do not despair.
Perhaps you experienced losses.
Do not surrender.
Perhaps some prayers remain unanswered.
Do not stop trusting God.
Perhaps you are ending the year weaker than you began.
God can strengthen you again.
Perhaps your plans failed.
God can give you a new direction.
Perhaps you have been disappointed by people.
God has not changed.
Your story is still being written.
The ember months may be closing one chapter, but God can use them to prepare you for another.
Therefore, do not spend the remaining days of this year mourning only what did not happen.
Thank God for what survived.
Learn from what failed.
Release what must be released.
Prepare for what is ahead.
Most importantly –
LIFT YOUR EYES AGAIN.
A WORD FROM GOD’S HEART TO YOU
Child of God, do not let your current circumstances become the boundary of your imagination.
Do not let poverty make you blind to possibility.
Do not let failure make you afraid of success.
Do not let rejection make you reject yourself.
Do not let people’s opinions become God’s verdict over your life.
Do not let one difficult season convince you that your entire life will be defined by hardship.
There is more ahead.
There is more to learn.
There is more to become.
There is more to build.
There is more to give.
There is more to accomplish.
And if God permits you to see another year, do not enter it with an old vision.
SEE BIGGER.
BELIEVE DEEPER.
PREPARE BETTER.
WORK HARDER.
TRUST GOD COMPLETELY.
Because:
“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…” – Ephesians 3:20
PRAYER FOR THE EMBER MONTHS:
Heavenly Father,
As I enter these ember months, open my eyes to see beyond my present circumstances.
Where disappointment has weakened my vision, restore my hope. Where failure has made me afraid, give me courage. Where financial challenges have limited my thinking, remind me that You are my source.
Where I see an ending, show me a new beginning. Where I see a small seed, help me see the harvest.
Give me the grace to discover, develop, and deploy everything You have placed inside me. Help me not merely to survive, but to grow. Help me not merely to exist, but to make an impact. Help me not merely to dream, but to prepare and act.
As this year draws to a close, let my faith become stronger, my vision clearer, my purpose deeper, and my life more fruitful.
As I look toward the coming year, help me to see what You see. Let me never place a human-sized limit on a limitless God.
I believe You can do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that I can ask or think.
Let my life become a testimony of Your faithfulness.
In Jesus mighty name, Amen.
MY EMBER-MONTH DECLARATION
I will not end this year in fear.
I will not allow my present circumstances to define my future.
I will not bury my God-given potential.
I will see beyond my limitations.
I will grow beyond my present level.
I will prepare for greater opportunities.
I will trust God for what I cannot yet see.
I am entering the coming season with renewed faith, renewed vision, and renewed strength.
I MAY NOT SEE EVERYTHING GOD HAS PREPARED FOR ME BUT I WILL NOT STOP LOOKING.
HOW FAR CAN YOU SEE IN THESE EMBER MONTHS?
Look again. Believe again. Prepare again.
For the God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think has not finished with you yet.
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