One of my friends from college posted this as his word of the year for 2023:
More.
{MAWR, MOHR) in greater quantity, amount, measure, degree, or number And then he wrote the following:
More Jesus. More physically. More spiritually. More influence. More results.
Praying for MORE in 2023! Knowing that He can do even more than I can imagine.
Keep that in mind while I tell you a little bit about my friend, Jeremy. Jeremy is a pastor in Tennessee who has battled fungal meningitis since February 2020. Over the course of the last two years, there have been numerous times when his friends and family prepared themselves for the worst. After being provided a leave of absence from his church, numerous
doctor visits, hospital stays, surgeries, and complete reliance on others to complete even the simplest of tasks, Jeremy returned to “active duty” this past fall, though he continues to be predominantly confined to a wheelchair.
At some point in the future, I hope we’ll be able to hear Jeremy share the story of his journey. In the meantime, I find myself incredibly humbled when I read my friend’s prayer for his church family: MORE. More Jesus. More physically. More spiritually. More influence. More results.
Through all the challenges and obstacles he has faced over the course of the last couple of years, I can imagine there were times – seasons even, when he might have considered simply giving up. Yet, the Spirit within my friend reminded him that there was – and is, more.
Healing was never guaranteed, and he may spend the remainder of his days in that chair, but he knows there’s more. Because in Christ, there always is.
And now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)