If you only had more power, you could change your circumstances, influence other people, or feel in control of your life.
But are you so powerless? Is worldly power really what you need?
On a radiant New Year’s morning in Pasadena, California, a beautiful float in the Tournament of Roses parade suddenly sputtered and stopped. It was out of gas. The parade came to a standstill until someone brought a few gallons of gasoline.
The irony of the situation was that the float represented the Standard Oil Company. This large corporation owned vast reserves of gas and oil, yet its float came to a grinding halt because it had run out of fuel.
How similar this is to us when we fail to draw upon the vast reserves of our mighty Savior’s power, which are so readily available to us through our new identity in Christ.
In the mid-1800s, an ordinary boy grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. His widowed mother struggled to provide for her nine children. At one point, the family was so poor that the children walked to church barefoot, carrying their shoes and stockings so they would not wear out. At the age of 17, this boy made a commitment to Christ in the back room of the shoe store where he worked. His life was changed. He began inviting everyone he could to his church. When he attempted to preach, one of the deacons assured him that he could serve God best by keeping silent. Another member praised the young man for his zeal, but recommended that he realize his limitations and not attempt to speak in public.
This average young man was named Dwight L. Moody. He went on to preach to millions and to be used by God to draw thousands upon thousands into Christ’s kingdom.
What made the difference in the life of this ordinary man? At the beginning of Moody’s ministry, he accepted the challenge of a Mr. Henry Varley:
“The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to Him.”
Moody thought, “He said ‘a man.’ He did not say a great man, nor a learned man, nor a smart man, but simply ‘a man.’ I am a man and it lies within the man himself whether he will or will not make that entire and full consecration.”
That day Moody gave all of himself to his Savior and Lord. He invited Christ to live in and through him—and that made all the difference.
Our victory in Christ, like the victory D. L. Moody experienced, is possible only by living in Christ’s power. His power is radically different from and superior to the power of the world. King David declared, “In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all” (1 Chronicles 29:12, NIV). Jeremiah exclaimed, “O Sovereign Lord! You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power. Nothing is too hard for You!” (Jeremiah 32:17).
Click here to learn how to experience the Power of the Holy Spirit in your life today!
Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. Ephesians 3:20
By Bill Bright, Abundant Living
©2023 Bright Media Foundation