Don’t Underestimate God’s Power at Work in You
Did you hear about the strange contraption
that washed up on a Florida beach recently? It was this big plastic bubble with
flotation devices attached to it. It belongs to a man who gets inside of it and
propels it along by what some refer to as walking or running on water. This
marathon runner apparently raises money for charity through his endeavors and
has dreams of trying to travel from Florida to New York, or even to Bermuda, in
his unusual vessel, although I understand he hasn’t been very successful at it
yet. He claims to want to inspire people to chase their dreams and to believe
that they can accomplish whatever they want to do.
I don’t know about you, but I think
I’ll draw my inspiration from the One who really walked on water, and He didn’t
need any plastic bubble in order to do it. One of the amazing aspects of that
incident recorded for us in the Gospels is the fact that not only did Jesus
perform this miracle as the unique Son of God, but He also imparted the same
miraculous power to one of His disciples, a regular, faulty human being like
you and me. Peter also was able to tread on the surface of the water for a short
time until he let fear and doubt enter his mind.
It’s
wonderful that we serve a Savior for whom nothing is impossible. He can do
miracles. He can walk on water. However, let’s not overlook the rest of the truth
expressed in that account. He can also give us the power to do great things.
The same supernatural ability that allowed Him to take a stroll on surface of the
sea is at work in our lives. I’m not advocating for anyone to go out and attempt
to literally walk on water. Nevertheless, I do believe we are often guilty of
underestimating what the Lord can do in our lives if we would simply rely on
Him and yield to His working in us.
Ephesians 3:20 refers to “Him who
is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
to the power that works in us”. The Lord is able to do far more than we could
imagine – greater things than walking on water. And if we know Him as our
Savior, that divine power works in us, too. However, it’s not just about us
going out and performing miracles like Jesus did, although we shouldn’t count
out that possibility. It’s also about His giving us the power we need to
overcome sin in our lives, to be His witnesses, to live holy lives, to love
people who are hard to love, to courageously stand up for what’s right, to be
bright lights in a dark world, and to become more like Him in our character and
conduct.
Too many professed followers of Christ act
like they’re powerless to do what Jesus says to do or to live the kind of life
He calls us to live. They don’t put up much of a struggle against temptation
and fail to strive toward the Lord’s standard of holiness and purity. They depend
much more on God’s forgiveness for their constant failings than on the power of
God to give them victory.
We need to trust that the One who
enabled Peter to walk on water can empower us to do whatever He calls us to do
and whatever His Word says we should do. The Lord can do more in you than you
might think. Trust Him, yield to Him, and just let Him work.