This Day-11 devotion is adapted from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermon "That Your Joy may be Full”

Fullness of Joy

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father... that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:14-19)

Many Christians experience spiritual depression because they stop growing after conversion. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones observed that some believers remain content with initial experiences of forgiveness without pressing into the "fullness of God" that Paul describes.

The apostle's prayer reveals that salvation is just the beginning. Beyond forgiveness lies an immense spiritual landscape to explore—the "breadth and length and height and depth" of Christ's love. Many Christians live as spiritual infants when God intends them to grow into maturity.

Lloyd-Jones identified a particular cause of depression: failing to realize what we're meant to be, what's available to us, and what God intends for us. We settle for spiritual subsistence when God offers abundance.

Paul prays that believers would be "strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being." This isn't merely about moral improvement but about supernatural empowerment—the same divine energy that raised Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20) working within us.

The result of this strengthening is that "Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." The Greek word for "dwell" (katoikēsai) implies permanent residence, not temporary visitation. Christ doesn't want to be an occasional guest in your life but a permanent inhabitant.

This indwelling leads to being "rooted and grounded in love"—a botanical and architectural metaphor suggesting both vibrant growth and unshakable stability. From this position, we can begin to "comprehend" dimensions of Christ's love that "surpass knowledge"—not just intellectually but experientially.

Today, if you're spiritually depressed, ask whether you've settled for less than God intends. Have you confused the starting line for the finish line? The same grace that saved you wants to transform you into the fullness of Christ. Your spiritual depression may be an invitation to deeper dimensions of faith.