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.