What do you think of when someone mentions the "power of God"? Miracles of healing? Maybe someone raised from the dead? There are many manifestations nowadays that are attributed by some to the power of God working in the lives of believers. I don't discount all of these. But it is always helpful to add a note of caution, to test the spirits (I John 4: 1), to "bereanize" (Acts 17: 11) everything and everyone that claims to be of God.
1. Dynamite is destructive.
God's dunamis is not (Heb.1:3); (Although the elements of this world will be destroyed through God's power, it is to make way for a new world.) His power, remember, was also employed in the creation of the universe. In fact it keeps the universe together. It keeps Christians together (I Peter 1:5).
2. Dynamite power is transitory,
like lightning. God's dunamis is steady and long-lasting, often subtle in its working. In the same way that the Kingdom of God does not come with observation, likewise God's power is often worked "behind the scenes". A person working in God's power, like those who are characterized by God's love, will not call attention to himself (I Cor. 13)
3. Dynamite power has no lasting value. We can be wasting our time looking for dynamite experiences- "mountaintops"- and ,tragically, all the while be fulfilling the sad prophecy of II Timothy 3:5, "...having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof" , thinking we are serving God and, trembling with panic in the last day, telling God, "Didn't we prophesy.... in your name?" and He could say to us, "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23). It is interesting that "dunamis" is used in both of the last two passages mentioned, but with quite different meanings.
In light of these truths, what should be our attitude toward spiritual power? We should desire God's power to break the power of sin in our life. We need God's power, of course, to live right and do right in this world which is in the power of the Evil One. But having said that, it is also true that there is a wrong desire for power which at the core is itself evil. It is a stubborn unwillingness to relinquish the reins of our lives to the reign of God. We all need to be willing to embrace obscurity and learn to say with Paul "when I am weak then I am strong. "(II Cor. 12: 9-10)
Many Christians today, and probably many more who don't know that they aren't Christians, have made the road to Heaven into a "power trip" with plenty of mountaintop experiences and flashes of glory. It is not surprising that one of their heroes is the Old Testament prophet Elijah with all of the dramatic and powerful episodes in his life. The importance of these events can't be denied. But neither should it be forgotten that, in the crisis of his loneliness and discouragement, that God was not in the wind, or in the earthquake, or the fire, but in the still, small voice.
Here are some promises for the powerless:
God does hear the prayer of sinners.
Christ did come into this world to save those who are aware of their sins and shortcomings. "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5: 6)
In fact there is no other way to God the Father but through His Son, Jesus Christ.
And the power of God is perfected in weakness. (II Cor. 12: 9)
When I was younger I was under the preaching of a pastor who always likened the "power of God" to "dynamite". Well, the word "dynamite" does indeed come from "dunamis", the greek word which is usually translated "power" in the Bible. But is this how we are to think of God's power - as dynamite? No, that would be a gross oversimplification of what God's power really is. And to equate His power with dynamite would be misleading in at least three ways:
hits since August 30, 1998.
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