POWER OF THE WORD: SHARED POWER
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
Our culture values independence. In a (healthy) workplace, management values employees who can make decisions, troubleshoot problems, navigate challenging situations and produce results without needing someone to hold their hand. A (healthy) parent’s goal is to raise children to become adults, to walk alongside and teach them how to transition from childhood and adolescent dependence to adult independence.
Independence is necessary and valuable to pursue, but it’s poison for the soul when we apply it to our relationship with God. In fact, there’s a word the Bible uses to describe our attempts to break our dependence on God—sin. Biblical logic rejects the idea of us being independent from God, and scripture fiercely reinforces our need for codependence on our Creator.
In our culture, the older you get as a human being, the more independent you should be. The older you get as a Christian, the more dependent on God you should be.
Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross, rose from the grave and restored our connection with God through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:1), and through His death and resurrection, He shared the power of the Holy Spirit with us. When we meet the living God and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we relinquish our independence to share in the Word’s resurrected power.
But God doesn’t give us His power to make life magically easier or to fix our problems. God’s power is provided with the expectation that we’ll be a light for the world around us and share the Good News of what God has done for us with a world in need.
APPLICATION: The Christian life is one of surrender. What area of your heart are you keeping independent from God? What’s a step you can take today, no matter how big or small, to start giving that area to God?
PRAYER: Lord, grow my trust and dependence on You. Reveal parts of my heart and life where I rely on my power instead of the power You gifted me through the Holy Spirit. Help me to walk in that power to share who You are with a world that desperately needs You. Amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?