Seek the Power of the Holy Spirit
The month of March is notorious for
being windy. We were reminded of that fact last weekend when a strong weather
front moved through our region. We had to deal with a cold, blustery day that
left numerous twigs and pine cones scattered around my yard. However, I heard
that those wind gusts were strong enough to bring down some trees as well, resulting
in a number of power outages. Instances such as this, in addition to what we
witness when tornadoes and hurricanes strike, cause us rightly to associate wind
with power.
The Bible makes that connection,
too. In Acts 2 when the followers of Jesus experienced the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, one of the unusual signs which occurred was the presence of a sound
like “a rushing mighty wind”. That particular manifestation appears to have
been intended to express the concept and reality of power in what was taking
place in that moment. Jesus had told His disciples that they would receive
power when the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:8). This was the fulfillment
of that promise. Those who were filled with the Spirit that day proceeded to
effectively minister and boldly witness for Christ with a divine power that
they had previously lacked.
Does such power still characterize those who
follow Jesus today? Is the Church known for its power? I’m afraid not, at least
not generally among those who profess to be believers. The opposite seems to be
true. There is a disturbing lack of divine power among followers of Christ. We hold
our meetings, carry out our programs, observe our rituals during this season of
Lent, but where is the Spirit-generated enablement that results in sinners
being convicted, believers living holy lives, and communities being impacted by
the godly influence of the Church? Where is the power to be the light that
overcomes the darkness in our own souls as well as in the world around us? There
may be human-generated power at work at times, but where is that “power from on
high” (Luke 24:49) Jesus told His followers to pray for and to expect?
Such power is still available to
those who know Christ today. Unfortunately, we’ve tended to downplay the
possibility or lessened our expectations as to the extent to which such divine enablement
can truly be part of our personal experience. We are satisfied with possessing
the presence of the Holy Spirit living within us as believers, but fail to
pursue the outpouring of the Spirit in His fullness. We settle for a life
filled with daily spiritual failings rather than one of consistently yielding
to God’s will for our lives. We content ourselves with whatever our efforts can
produce rather than expecting the Lord to move in ways beyond our capabilities.
We look for the natural instead of expecting the miraculous.
We need to follow Jesus’
instructions to His disciples – to prayerfully wait on God in anticipation of
being filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to make sure we are trusting Jesus
as the one who saves us from our sin. We need to surrender ourselves to His
lordship over our lives, not holding anything back from being under His rule.
Then we need to pray for the Lord to pour out His Spirit on us as He did on
those disciples. Trust Him to do it and receive it by faith.
The wind of God’s Spirit can still
blow today. We need the divine power that can make us holy, bold, effective
witnesses for Christ. As March is known for its wind, may we be known for being
filled with the Holy Spirit and for His power working through us.
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