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Author: Andy Pettman, from the Servants of the Word, an international, ecumenical brotherhood of men living single for the Lord.

Dynamite!

Right before Jesus was taken up into heaven he spoke to his disciples, saying, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The Greek word for power is dunamis (doo'-nam-is), the root of our word dynamite. It was power for change that Christ promised his disciples. In our lives we experience this – God works powerfully through his Spirit to change things, or speak into lives. But let’s be honest. It is not all the time that we experience the power of the Holy Spirit coursing through us; rather it is at God’s discretion. While we recognise that this is the way God works, this can still be frustrating. He gives us his power, but he does not want us to fall into the trap of thinking that it is “our power”. So, although through faith we have the “power to move mountains”, (Matthew 17:20) normal life is mostly lived patiently dealing with our human frailty and weakness, whilst knowing that God can at any time intervene. Ask yourself today: How can I in faith deal with this tension between having the power to move mountains and patiently waiting on God?

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.