You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘power’ tag.
And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
How would life be different if you knew that you were surrounded by an army of angels armed and ready to attack at a moments notice? How would that affect the things you are currently worried about? What ‘dream’ that you’ve put on hold would be taken off the back burner and pursued? If you knew that you had an entire army at your bidding how would it affect how you feel about yourself?
The prophet, Elisha, was being pursued by an evil Assyrian King who was angry with Elisha because Elisha had warned the King of Israel of the Assyrian Kings attacks. Time and time again Israel was able to avoid defeat at the hands of the Assyrians. The Assyrian King decided that in order to beat the Israelites he would first have to do in Elisha.
One day, Elisha and his servant looked out beyond the walls of the city and saw the Assyrian army surrounding them. There was no escape. They were doomed and the servant feared for their lives! Elisha prayed and asked God to open the servant’s eyes. When He did, the servant saw hundreds of thousands of angels surrounding the army. Through divine intervention the enemy army was defeated and Elisha and his servant were safe.
There are times in each of our lives when it seems like the troubles and conflicts of life have us surrounded. We see no escape and we feel like we are doomed to failure. It could be finances, school, friends, broken relationships or the consequences of our own poor choices. These things keep us from living up to the potential that God has for us. But the Bible tells us over and over again that our Heavenly Father loves us dearly and has promised to protect us. Our Father desires for each of us to experience His love and protection when the enemy attacks.
Our finite minds are unable to fully comprehend the fact that we are surrounded by the spirit world. Ephesians tells us that every battle we have to fight is not a battle that we can see. The battle is really a spiritual one in which Satan and his angels want to attack us with worry, defeat, guilt, shame and a poor self image. Satan doesn’t want us to know all the things God has in store for us. He’s happy when we are miserable.
God’s army of angels is standing-by, ready to attack Satan’s angels and keep them from pulling us down. If we could see as Elisha’s servant saw, we would realize that we are surrounded by God’s angels, armed and ready for battle on our behalf. With God’s army of angels protecting us, we can freely pursue all that God has for us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that you love me enough to protect me and fight for me. I praise you that even though I fail time and time again you want to bring me through the struggles of my life. Forgive me for constantly thinking that I need to fight my own battles. Keep me from listening to Satan’s lies. Help me see the warriors that you have on my side so I can live in victory for your name’s sake. Amen.
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14 (NASB)
What is it that keeps the Olympic athletes training day in and day out for months and years? What power drives the author to spend hours a day writing on that novel? What driving force pushes the cancer patient to live through the pain or the accident victim to beat all the odds in order to walk again? What motivates the fire fighter to enter a burning building to rescue a little girl’s kitten, risking his own life in the process?
Every day we hear stories about heroes performing extraordinary feats to win honors, save lives or keep their own. One factor in all of these stories is the vision these people have that says “life is worth it!” They are able to look through the gloom and doom, evaluate the possibilities and reach down inside themselves and conjure up a plan that enables them to reach their goal.
Not everyone wins the dream of course. Many gallant men and women lose athletic contests, never get that book published or lose the battle to illness or tragedy. Even so, they believed in themselves enough to try and that in and of itself are worth merit.
As Christ followers we can know what that inner drive is. It’s spelled J-E-S-U-S! It is because of Him we have our essence. It’s believing that scripture says about who we are in Him and realizing in a practical, experiential way that God loves us and that we are His own very special creation. He has given us the gifts, the power and the wisdom to accomplish all that He has in store for us.
In Psalm 27, David writes about the utter despair that he would have had if it weren’t for his faith in almighty God. It was David’s focus on the finish line that kept him sane in the dark mountain fields at night. It was his focus on what God could do that enabled him to pick up those five stones, patiently wait for the throne, and defeat all of Israel’s enemies. It was his belief in the promise of the Messiah that allowed him to be at peace with himself even after he sinned greatly against God, his family and his nation.
Each of us can do exactly as David did. We focus on that God can do through us, as His special creations. We can trust Him to deliver us and empower us to work through the pain and frustrations of live. We can look back at what God provided us through Jesus (forgiveness and His Holy Spirit to guide and motivate) and forward to real life with Him now and forevermore.
Never give up on God. Never give up on yourself. He can work in your life to help you change your world!
PRAYER: Father God, as I think of the many ways people have beat the odds and accomplished great things I’m in awe of your power. I confess to you that sometimes I really don’t believe you have great things in store for me. I get so encumbered with my present and my past that I forget to see your future. Help me to use the power you’ve given me through your Holy Spirit to be the person you want me to be and to change my world for you. Amen
For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. Psalm 89:17
When I was growing up we had a big Cornucopia that adorned the Thanksgiving table. It was one of my favorite decorations, although to this day I’m not sure why. There was just something about that horn shaped basket full of brightly colored fruits and vegetables that stirred my made me happy. Now when I look at one it reminds me of the many blessings that we have been given from our heavenly Father.
I wonder if that was on his mind when the Psalmist writes, “by your favor you exalt our horn”? In the original languages the word ‘horn’ refers to strength, so perhaps the New Living Translation gives us a better idea of what the verse means when it says, “You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong. Psalm 89:17 (NLT)”.
This part of the Psalm is talking about those people who follow God’s commands and walk with Him. Our Father delights in helping us grow strong. His desire is to see our strength result in healthy vibrant fruit that, in turn, will empower us to live healthy, satisfied lives even in the midst of turmoil.
The fruit of the Cornucopia signifies several things. It shows the hard work, determination and commitment of the farmer to plant, cultivate and harvest the fruit. But all the planting, cultivating and loving care of the plants would be of no use unless the Father provides the growth. The Apostle Paul attests to that when he says, “Some plant, and some water, but God gives the increase.”
The ‘fruit’ our Father has for us is not always physical fruit. At least not right away. His intention is for us to rely on Him for inner strength and inner growth. As we grow closer to Him and rely on him more he gives us the physical things we need to go on. For a crop to grow healthy the weeds and rocks need to be removed and the soil needs an adequate supply of water. Think of rocks and weeds a being those things that keep us from trusting God. It could be worry, addictions, anger, a judgmental attitude or any other number of sins. These things must be removed from our lives and the ‘refreshing water’ of God’s word administered to the dry soil of our lives so that His fruit can grow in us.
The beauty of all of this is that our Father wants us to succeed. He wants to see fruit in our lives. One of the Father’s greatest joys is to give me the strength to make it through challenges of today. That’s why, like a patient farmer, He is willing to patiently and lovingly help us remove the things that keep us from enjoying all that He has for us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, there are too many times when I’ve tried to do things entirely on my own only to find out I’m too weak to accomplish the task. It seems like the fertile soil of my life is strewn with rocks and weeds. Help me this day to trust you to empower me to remove the rocks and weeds in my life and trust you fully to provide my spiritual, emotional and physical needs. Amen.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4
Every day we encounter situations which can affect our entire outlook on life. One negative comment can send us scrambling for shelter like a frightened armadillo or startled turtle. It can be something as simple as a cross word spoken or a misunderstanding of the meaning behind something we hear.
When we fight the world’s battles with the worlds weapons defeat is inevitable. How we react to daily situations in our lives can have a lasting effect on how we feel about ourselves and what we can accomplish in life. A parent’s disappointment in us can affect us well into adulthood and even affect how our children feel about themselves. It isn’t the obstacles in life that determine our success or failure. How we view of ourselves is more often the determining factor between success and failure.
The Apostle Paul tells us that the weapons we have to fight life’s battles aren’t the same weapons the world uses. The weapons of the world are destructive. The obvious weapons of physical warfare are easy to see and while they can cause death and destruction, the unseen weapons of the world are in some ways more destructive because they don’t leave bruises or blood, only inner pain.
Because of Jesus we can overcome these weapons or strongholds of criticism, judgmental attitudes, vindictive rumors and the like. When we listen to the attacks of the enemy and allow them to determine how we see ourselves, depression, poor self-esteem and discouragement are bound to follow and have detrimental effects on our relationships.
The divine weapons we have been given offer life not destruction, healing not wounding, building up, not tearing down. They are based on God’s view of us and not the view we or others have of us. When I see myself as God sees me it doesn’t matter how others view me! Other people see my failures, my mistakes, and my faults. God sees me as His beloved Child. He looks at me through His Son, Jesus.
Don’t allow the weapons of the world to thwart Gods power to attain the life you want to have. The abusive words and actions of those in your past can be set aside as you pursue all that God has for you in Christ Jesus. With the weapons we have we can overcome the strongholds the world would like to place on us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to see myself as you see me and not be affected by the negative and destructive actions of those in the world. Empower me through your Spirit to lift the fallen, encourage the weary and patiently bear with those intent on my demise. Amen.
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6
We live in a society that worships strength. We admire the athlete that excels at what they do and are in awe of their strength. We applaud modern day heroes as they risk their lives to save the lives of others or battle personal adversity. There aren’t any reality shows in which the winner is the weakest person!
In God’s society the idea of personal strength is just the opposite of what He looks for. In the book of Zechariah God sends a message to a guy named Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel had a huge task to perform and was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the challenge that lay before him. But God informed Him of two things. First, the task would be completed and, secondly, it would not be done by Zerubbabel’s strength but by God’s strength.
The wording of the verse implies that if Zerubbabel would lean on God’s strength every mountain would be removed and every obstacle would be conquered. It would not be done by physical strength (might) nor would it be done with the inner ability to influence those around him (power). It would be done by God alone.
Some people rely on physical strength (might) to get their way and handle conflict. But physical strength only works when you are stronger than the enemy, and gives way to youth as we grow older. Others rely on inner resolve and mind manipulation (power) to sway things their way. But that too proves fruitless in the face of the enemy. While we see weakness as a hindrance, God seeks the weak to do His work. He promises that ‘He (Jesus) who began a good work in you WILL complete it’.
We all have mountains and obstacles in our way. Things from our past haunt us. We suffer from the consequences of poor choices, broken relationships, illness or a variety of other issues. God never intends for us to face the obstacles of our lives alone. It has always been His intent to help us rise above those challenges to reach the dreams we have for ourselves.
Relax. It isn’t your job to fight the battles ahead of you. You are only asked to ‘rest in God’s power’ and allow Him to handle the challenges of your life. Step outside the box. Trust His strength to endure. He may be waiting for you to hand it over to Him so He can use whatever struggle you have for His glory.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, there are so many things in life that are attacking me right now. Many of them are a result of my own stubbornness and poor choices. Empower me to trust Your Spirit to motivate and encourage for today’s battles. Give me faith to conquer the obstacles ahead of me. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 