Posts Tagged: POWER FOR THE TASKS AT HAND
AS POWERFUL AS I MAKE UP MY MIND TO BE
“I have noticed,” said Abraham Lincoln, “that a man is usually about as happy as he has made up his mind to be.”
I’ve also noticed that I am about as powerful as I make up my mind to be. This is decidedly bad news for me a good deal of the time. To paraphrase an old joke usually attributed to Gracie Allen, I’ve never felt strong, and I still do! (I think the original was, “I’ve never liked you, and I always will.”)
Maybe I need to redefine power. Perhaps even better, perhaps I need to reimagine it.
What is power? How do I imagine it?
Is power the ability to win gold in Olympic swimming events or on the balance beam? Is power being president of the United States—or at least running for that office? Obviously, if I think of power in these ways, I am not powerful. And I will never be powerful.
The truth is that I don’t want to merely be powerful in the ways I just mentioned. No, I want to be all powerful.
Of course, that is one of the attributes of God. God is the One who is described as all-powerful.
Indeed, challenging God’s knowledge (and knowledge is power, right?) was the first temptation. “You will be like God (or gods), knowing . . .” is not just the first temptation. It is the only temptation. Every other specific temptation is merely a variation on that theme.
So, how should I think of power?
Power is the strength to do what I really need to do, as a limited human being, at any given moment.
And what do I need to do at any given moment?
Merely the task at hand!
That task may be mowing the grass (which I already did on a very hot and humid day), doing the laundry (which I am doing now), grading a student’s paper, waiting tables at the restaurant where I work, resting, loving my wife, making final revisions on my PhD thesis, being kind to and patient with people, and so on.
I will have the power to do what I need to do. However, God doesn’t give the power before I need it. There is no savings account or investment portfolio for power.
But if I ask God for the power I need at this moment, and I act based on the assumption that the power will be there, then the power is, in fact, there.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- “Even a Sliver of Light” April 9, 2024“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, English Standard Version) I missed the total eclipse yesterday. There were a number of good reasons for this, but […]
- “The Process in Miracles and the Miracle of Process” March 11, 2024“2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids […]
- “The Power of Encouragement—Even for Old People” March 10, 2024“But encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.” (Hebrews 3:13, New Century Version) Yesterday, I was walking at a nearby park. There was a large group of young people some of whom were running while other young people […]
- “Endurance” March 10, 2024“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, English Standard Version) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us […]
- “The Limits of Non-Judgmentalism” February 24, 2024“Matt. 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. Matt. 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2, English Standard Version) This morning, in my virtual 12-step meeting, we discussed the topic of judgmentalism. There were many wise […]
- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
- “Character is the Real Lesson” January 19, 2024I am often confused about what lesson I’m really supposed to be learning. For example, this morning I was trying to knock out several Spanish lessons. My intentions were a lot better than my internet connection. I’ve done three lessons. Or rather, I’ve done two lessons. One of them I did twice because the internet […]
- “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked” January 1, 2024Each year, I try to come up with one word or a short phrase for what I intend to work on in the upcoming year. 2024 is “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked”. What?!! What does that even mean? So glad that you asked! Jesus said to his disciples, “Why do you look at the speck […]
- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
- “That Don’t Impress God Much” December 14, 2023DTEB, “That Don’t Impress God Much” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” (Song by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain) Micah 6:8 (MSG) “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be […]
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