Scripture Reading

Ephesians 3:16-21

Today’s Truth

Good works were never meant to be proof that we are rooted in Christ. They are meant to be fruit that grows from being rooted in Christ.

Nothing will wear a woman out quite like trying to prove she is faithful.

I know, because I have done it.

There was a season when I wore every hat I could find. If there was a need at church, I wanted to help meet it. If there was a task to be done, I would do it. If there was a gap to fill, I would step in. I was known for serving, known for helping, known for showing up, known for good works.

And honestly, I thought I was doing all the right things. I loved the Lord. I loved the church. I loved His Word. I wanted to serve. I wanted to be useful. I wanted to do what was right.

But somewhere along the way, I became tired, bitter, and burned out.

Looking back, I can see something I could not fully see then. I was striving to become rooted instead of living from rootedness. I was doing good things, but not all of them were the good works God had prepared for me to walk in. Some of them were flowing from gifting and obedience. Some of them were flowing from guilt, pressure, need, and the old belief that being good for God meant doing more for God.

I do not think I meant to do that.

Most of us don’t. Most of us are not trying to build some impressive spiritual résumé. We see needs. We love people. We want to help. We want to serve. We feel guilty saying no. We wonder what people will think if we step back. We tell ourselves, “Someone has to do it,” and sometimes we assume that someone must be us.

But a need is not always an assignment.

A good opportunity is not always our good work to carry.

And being available to God does not mean being available to everyone.

Last week we saw in Ephesians 2:10, that we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

That verse is easy to misunderstand if we pull it away from grace.

Because if we are not careful, we can take the phrase “good works” and turn it right back into striving. We can hear “created to do good works” and immediately start asking, “What else should I be doing? Where else should I be serving? How do I prove I am walking in purpose?”

But Paul does not leave us there.

If Ephesians 2:10 tells us that God prepared good works for us, Ephesians 3 reminds us that God also provides the strength to walk in them. And before Paul tells the church in Ephesians 4 to live a life worthy of the calling they have received, he first prays that they would be strengthened with power through the Spirit in their inner being and rooted and established in love.

Notice the order. We are not sent into good works empty.

We are rooted.

We are strengthened.

We are filled by the spirit.

Paul does not pray that the church would hustle harder. He does not pray that they would add more to their calendars, fill more roles, prove their usefulness, or build their identity around what they can do for God.

He prays that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith.

He prays that they would be rooted and established in love.

He prays that they would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

He prays that they would be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Before Paul talks about God doing immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, he talks about inner strengthening and rootedness.

Because rooted women bear fruit, but they do not manufacture it.

A tree does not grit its teeth to produce fruit. It receives from the soil. It draws from the roots. It grows from what is happening beneath the surface. And maybe that is where some of us need to pause.

Some of us are exhausted because we have said yes to everything and called it faithfulness.

Others of us are restless because we have said no to everything and called it a season.

And some of us, if we are honest, have been hiding in very good things.

For many women, motherhood can become one of those places.

I want to say that carefully, because motherhood is holy work. Discipling our children matters. Loving within our homes matters. Showing up for our families matters. Driving to practices, packing lunches, praying over friendships, helping with homework, sitting in the stands, wiping tears, speaking truth, and creating a home where our people are known and loved, none of that is small.

Our children are absolutely part of our calling. But they were never meant to become the whole of our identity, purpose, or spiritual fruitfulness.

There was a season when I put my calling down again, and I became so immersed in my kids’ sports dreams that I stopped asking the Lord what He was calling me to steward in that season. I was helping them pursue what was in front of them, but I had stepped away from what God had placed in my own hands.

That is how something good can slowly become the thing we organize our whole life around.

We can be so busy helping our children use their gifts that we bury our own. We can become so invested in their opportunities that we stop making room for God to use us. We can tell ourselves we are just being faithful mothers, and sometimes we are. But sometimes, if we let the Lord tell the truth gently, we are hiding.

Busy with good things. Covered in good intentions. But hiding.

A woman rooted in Christ will bear fruit. It may not be loud fruit. It may not be platform fruit. It may not be the kind of fruit people clap for. But her life will begin to bless beyond herself because the Spirit of God is at work within her.

That is why I love the women Scripture gives us.

Mary of Bethany

Mary of Bethany reminds us that fruit begins at the feet of Jesus. In Luke 10, Martha was distracted by all the preparations, but Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. Jesus did not shame service, but He did make it clear that Mary had chosen what was better. Before we serve with our hands, we need to be rooted in His presence.

Lydia

Lydia reminds us that God can use what we have. In Acts 16, the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to respond to Paul’s message, and one of her first acts of faith was opening her home. Her resources, hospitality, influence, and availability became a place of ministry. Her home was not a hiding place. It became a place where the work of God was welcomed.

Tabitha

Tabitha reminds us that ordinary skills can become holy service. Acts 9 describes her as a disciple who was always doing good and helping the poor. When she died, the widows stood around Peter showing him the clothing she had made for them. That detail moves me. Her ministry had texture. It had thread. It had sleeves and seams and widows holding the evidence of her love.

Mary sat at His feet. Lydia opened her home. Tabitha used what was in her hands.

Different women. Different gifts. Different expressions of faithfulness.

Same Lord. Same fruitfulness.

That is what I want us to see.

Good works do not have to look the same in every woman’s life. We are not all called to the same assignments, the same pace, the same season, or the same expression of obedience. But we are all called to be rooted in Christ and strengthened by His Spirit so that what He placed in us does not stay buried.

Maybe for you, obedience looks like stepping back from things you were never called to carry.

Maybe for you, obedience looks like stepping forward after years of saying, “Not now.”

Maybe for you, it looks like serving in the church.

Maybe for you, it looks like opening your home.

Maybe for you, it looks like using your creativity, your teaching, your encouragement, your cooking, your writing, your business, your wisdom, your prayers, your story, or your availability to strengthen someone else.

And the question is not, “How do I do more?”

The question is, “Lord, what good works have You prepared for me, and am I rooted enough in You to walk in them?”

Because a rooted woman can say yes with obedience.

She can bear fruit because the Spirit is strengthening her from within.

Ephesians 3 ends by reminding us that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us.

Not according to our perfect schedule. Not according to our endless capacity. Not according to our ability to be everything to everyone.

According to His power at work within us.

That is the grace we need. Not just grace that saves us, but grace that strengthens us.

Grace that roots us.

Grace that teaches us when to serve and when to be still.

Grace that calls us out of striving.

Grace that calls us out of hiding.

Grace that helps us walk in the good works God prepared for us without turning those good works into another way to prove ourselves.

Reflection

Where have I confused being available to God with being available to everyone?

Have I been saying yes out of obedience, or out of guilt, pressure, fear, or the need to be needed?

Is there a place where I have used busyness, motherhood, or a full season of life as a hiding place from obedience?

What is one gift, skill, burden, or opportunity God may be asking me to offer back to Him in this season?

Where do I need to stop striving and ask the Spirit to strengthen me from within?

Prayer

Lord, root me deeply in Your love.

I do not want to strive for purpose. I do not want to hide from purpose. I want to walk faithfully in the good works You prepared for me.

Strengthen me by Your Spirit in my inner being. Teach me the difference between guilt and obedience. Teach me the difference between striving and fruitfulness. Teach me the difference between hiding and resting.

Thank You for the people and places You have entrusted to me. Help me love them faithfully without making them my whole identity. Help me serve with open hands, not clenched fists. Help me bear fruit that comes from being rooted in You.

Use what You have placed in my hands for Your glory.

Amen.

Reset Step

This week, ask the Lord one simple question:

“Where am I striving, and where am I hiding?”

Write down whatever comes to mind. Do not rush to fix it. Simply bring it honestly before the Lord and ask Him to strengthen you, root you, and help you discern the good works He has prepared for you in this season.

Freebie

I created a cut-out Scripture page to go along with this study, with four key verses from Created on Purpose for you to keep close as you walk through Ephesians. You can tuck them in your Bible, place them on your mirror, keep one in your car, or set one somewhere you will see it often.

These verses are meant to help you remember what Scripture says about who you are in Christ, how deeply you are rooted in His love, how He has graced you to serve, and how He invites you to walk in the good works He prepared for you.

You can find this free printable inside The Reset Room. Just join below, and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.