Wednesday, June 1, 2022 - Pentecost

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20, New Living Translation)

               Powerlessness is a helpless feeling.

                During the hellacious derecho storm two Saturdays ago, we lost hydro power for about 36 hours. It came back on about 9 p.m. Sunday night. Our neighbourhood was one of the lucky ones to get power back so “quickly”. There were many who waited for far longer; for days in fact.

                We take electrical power for granted – until we lose it.  We turn on lights, open the fridge, charge our phones, cook on the stove, watch TV, all because of a constant source of electrical power. By Sunday afternoon, the day after the storm, my cell phone was dead, my Chrome book was on its last vestiges of power, and my Switch game console warning me it was also down to the last dregs of its battery life. I was facing an evening, as long as I had daylight, of using a pencil and doing crossword puzzles.

It struck me how little prepared we were for this sort of powerless event. No working flashlight. Hadn’t charged my phone the day before. No canned goods in the house, although I could cook on our gas stove top by manually lighting a burner. It could have been much worse, lasted much longer and been a bigger nuisance than it was. But when one has no power, it can be a stressful and taxing time.

It got me to thinking about how power is described in scripture. There is a large, diverse quantity of texts which attempt to describe the power of God, for instance. I think “power of God” may be somewhat challenging to understand. To many of us, it has meant God’s miraculous works or his creative acts of Creation. Some of us believe that there is nothing impossible for God. Others might see God’s power in terms of some mighty spiritual force at work in our world.

But as I skimmed through the New Testament texts, it struck me how much more subtle and refined the texts were as they described the work of the Holy Spirit, God’s agent of power. And how deeply personal and intimate is this power.  It is not so much a rushing wind, a spiritual derecho, but the power acts in inspirational, imaginative, creative ways to get you and me moving in the right direction, doing the right things, loving others, having hope, and living the life of discipleship of Jesus Christ. “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20, NLT)

God’s power is expressed in the work, gifts, talents and abilities of those who follow Jesus Christ, “God’s power is working in us” (2 Cor. 6:7). Paul wrote, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Phil. 2:13, NLT) God’s power gives us patience and endurance. (Col. 1:11)

“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” (2 Thess. 1:11, NLT)

We do not face the world alone. Even in the face of adversity, hardship, evil, we have not been abandoned. God’s power is a vital source of strength, energy, hope, and spurs us into actions of love and compassion. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:11, NLT)

“Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11, NLT)

Amen, indeed!

 

Dale