Our area has experienced sudden thunderstorms the last few weeks. When they are accompanied by rainbows, it always makes me smile with seeing God’s goodness. The latest was a severe thunderstorm with 75+ mph winds about 9:45 pm, which downed trees in the area and left us without power for almost a full day. We were grateful it was only for one day, as there were people who were without power for three days.
I believe the grace of God kept my husband and me safe as we were traveling home from some friends’ house when the storm came rushing in. A few minutes into the short drive home, the lightning lit up the sky. As we turned onto one road, the sky opened up with a torrential downpour and massive wind. The scariest part was not being able to see the road but seeing green tree debris in our path. Honestly, I held my breath, hoping a tree did not come crashing down on us or the roadway. When we turned onto our road, the power immediately flashed off. It was a relief to have arrived home safely despite not having any power.
Photo courtesy of Aah-Yeah under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)
Have you experienced losing power for a day or longer? The worst I have experienced was in the flood of 2011, being without power for almost five days.
Isn’t it kind of eerie when it is night, and you don’t have any power? How many times do you walk into a room and flip the light switch out of habit?
When you are without power, life seems to be on “hold.”
Most likely, the plans you had for the day will change suddenly. You can’t go about doing the things you usually do…
…no cooking food.
…no grabbing a cold drink from the fridge.
…no using a computer.
…no heat in the winter.
…no hot water for a shower.
…no ability to charge your cell phone.
…limited ability to flush toilets for those with wells.
God has a sense of humor sometimes, doesn’t He? I had just published my weekly thoughts, “Dancing in the Rain,” and I got to practice the “dancing in the rain” with having no power. Arriving back to the dark house, I danced in the rain by reading, via a flashlight, a book our friends’ let me borrow. It was something I could do with having the power go out unexpectedly.
The following morning, I decided to go out, get something to eat, and take a walk dwelling in God’s presence near some water.
It was then I thought about the one and only true power source in our lives that never goes out.
“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” –Luke 24:49 (NLT)
This scripture passage was after Jesus’ resurrection when He appeared to the disciples who were behind locked doors. Jesus showed them His hands and feet to prove who He was. Jesus ate broiled fish in their presence. He opened the disciples’ minds so they could understand the Scriptures. They were witnesses of all Jesus had endured and were being sent to continue proclaiming the Good News. The Holy Spirit is the true power that comes from heaven.
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. –Romans 8:11 (NLT)
We can only be connected to the Holy Spirit through Jesus. He gives us the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit lives in us!
Photo courtesy of Sapphire Dream Photography under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 2.0)
What are we able to do with our lives with the power source leading us?
–To be witnesses sharing Jesus.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” –Acts 1:8 (NLT)
–To be guided to walk in truth.
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. –John 16:13 (NIV)
–To bear fruit in our lives.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! –Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
This week may you be encouraged to reflect on the true power source in your life. Stay plugged into the power supply. The Spirit is in you thanks to Jesus’ resurrection.
May the Holy Spirit guide you to…
…be a witness sharing Jesus.
…walk in truth.
…bear fruit in your life.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. –Isaiah 11:2 (ESV)
Enjoyed the example. You are Blessed and a Blessing
Thank you for reading and your kind words! You, too, are a very special blessing in my life. God bless you and Lilly~
Wow. What a marvelous topic! And how fitting it truly is to each of our lives! It is absolutely accurate to state that Christ is our one and only power source. The very moment we separate ourselves from this source (Jesus), is the very moment we start feeling all of the effects: depleted energy (i.e. loss of motivation), a sense of feeling lost (i.e. confused about the directions we are headed in), and exhibiting character traits that are “fleshly” (i.e. portraying those mannerisms as expressed in Galatians 5:19-21).
Simply put, outside of submitting to Christ, we become the subject of how our flesh would dictate us to react. Paul explicitly states that the acts of the flesh ARE EVIDENT. Hence, our power source is now eaten away, because the power we once had in Christ is being depleted by that which feeds the flesh. In this instance, we are the ones who suffer the consequences as those “fleshly” attitudes drain the life right out of us.
Jesus says in John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it (life) more abundantly.”
The thief Jesus is talking about here is none other than the adversary of our souls (the devil.) This enemy has an arsenal up his sleeve to steal our time, to kill our joy in Christ and to destroy every possible positive relationship we can have with others (including the most important one with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.) It is important to note that this enemy will use whatever means necessary to completely rob us of our power, which is in Christ (that includes using us against ourselves.)
Self, if it is not truly crucified with Christ will ultimately want the power for self and self alone. This is why Paul exhorts us so vehemently (passionately) to die daily. Even Jesus expresses this same zeal in Matthew 16:24… “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” There’s absolutely, positively no room for “self” in the Kingdom of God.
There truly is not any amount of power that self could possess that it wouldn’t be completely depleted of. That’s why it’s called “self-sabotage”. Let it be known for a fact that self, by itself cannot exist, thrive or even survive with selfish motives. But, the enemy would attempt to deceive us in thinking that self can indeed be self sustained. No. This is a foolish pursuit. Just ask Solomon who afforded self every pleasure this world has to offer. His findings: “Everything is meaningless…” (See Ecclesiastes 1:1-10)
In order for us to have power that isn’t corrupted, disrupted, or even interrupted, we must be severed from the flesh and connected to Christ. In other words, the flesh has to die. Make no mistake about it; making concessions for the flesh will sap us bone dry of any and all power we thought we had. Even when we look closer at the word FLESH, the word SELF can be found. It’s no wonder that the flesh and the Spirit are at constant odds with one another!
We want a power source that’s teeming with life, right? Then, we must plug our spirit man into the only source that will never ever run dry: Jesus. And we ought to spur ourselves on in continuing to do this on a regular basis. For apart from Christ, we can do nothing and we won’t have an everlasting source of power. Be reassured that the adversary of our souls as well as our flesh cannot and will not spark the light, the liberty and the love that’s never ever depleting or fleeting.
Praying that this message finds you well and plugged into God’s power continually pouring into your heart, soul, mind and life. Shalom.
Thanks so very much for reading and sharing this encouraging message, Christopher! I appreciate the affirmations you shared. I never thought about how “self” is in “flesh” before! Praying you are well and keeping plugged into the power source too! Blessings and peace~