Greater Power | Day 15
Podcast Intro [00:00:00]:
Are you experiencing greater things in this season? We want to hear about it. Share your story at transformation at soulcitychurch.com.
Host [00:00:11]:
Welcome to the Greater Things Daily Devotional, where we're asking the question, God, what is the greater thing you want to do in me and through me? Wherever you are, quiet your soul and pray this ancient prayer with me. Come, Holy Spirit. This week we're meditating on greater power and what that could look like in our lives. Today's devotional is out of 2nd Timothy 1:7. It says, for God gave us a spirit, not of fear, but of power and love and self control. -One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how different children are from adults. For example, they have a remarkable quality that many of us wish we had an unwavering trust in the world around them. From their earliest moments, they experience their world with open arms and open hearts.
Host [00:01:28]:
If a child's adult tells them they're safe, they believe they're safe. If a child's adult tells them they drew a spectacular picture, they believe that they drew a spectacular picture. If a child adult tells them that they can do something, they believe they can do it. Life is pretty simple for children. However, you and I both know that that changes. That childlike innocence gets replaced over time with jadedness or skepticism as we move into our adulthood. Interestingly enough, in many places in the scriptures, children are used metaphorically as what our connection and relationship with God is like or should be like. Essentially, children carry qualities that we must embrace on our personal, level transformation in our lives.
Host [00:02:35]:
One of those childlike qualities is dependence. In the same way that children depend on their adults for everything, we can see our spiritual journeys as learning to depend on God as our ultimate source. God's spirit ultimately is our source. The Holy Spirit's power is ultimately our source. But if you're anything like me, the daily demands of life can easily pull me away from my source. All too often, rather than being connected to the source of his presence, we become connected to sources like fear, anxiety, or shame. We can fear that we're lacking what we need, the ability, experience, resources, or time. I believe this is the idea that the apostle Paul is getting at in 2nd Timothy 1:7.
Host [00:03:33]:
Paul is encouraging Timothy to remember what is true. Being a young leader of a community of Christ followers had to invoke emotions like fear, anxiety, or shame at moments within Timothy. Timothy might have questioned whether or not he had the skills or experiences to carry out this assignment that God had given him. So rather than reminding Timothy of his list of accomplishments, the Apostle Paul reminds him of the reality that transcends all of Timothy's potential worries. He reminds him of the spirit that dwells within him. That same spirit that resurrected Jesus from the grave was now alive in Timothy. And through that spirit, he had access to all that he needed. This is still true for you and I today.
Host [00:04:31]:
The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus himself from the dead lives within us. The apostle Paul reminds us that the Holy Spirit isn't an optional topic or a impractical theory. He is our source. He isn't an app on the smartphone. He is the entire operating system. Through him, we have the fullness of Jesus' loving embrace and spiritual power that influences every dimension of our lives. His spirit satisfies our deepest longing for belonging and security. Paul makes it clear, God didn't give us fear.
Host [00:05:16]:
While emotions like fear, and anxiety, and shame are a part of the human experience, we don't have to be paralyzed by them. We do not have to be defined by them or live in the story that they tell us. We don't have to accept lies like, I will never have enough, I'm too young. I'm too old. I don't have the skills or capacity. In the moments when those thoughts or emotions come, pause and invite the Holy Spirit to make you more aware of his presence. Ask him to remind you of what is true and of who you are, to remind you that God did not give you a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and love and self control. The question is, will you have the childlike trust for what God says about you? Will you trust that you are actually not alone? So today, trust that through your connection with the Holy Spirit, you have all that you need to step out in boldness and courage to experience greater things in your life and in your relationship with Jesus.
Host [00:06:45]:
Now I invite you to pause and repeat this prayer after me. Come, holy spirit. I welcome your presence here. Jesus in 2nd Timothy 1:7, your word says, for God gave us a spirit, not a fear, but of power and love and self control. I thank you for the promise of your spirit. Thank you for the power, love and self control that is found in your spirit. I say sorry for the moments when I surrender to fear or shame and live in the story that they whisper to me. I confess my fear and shame, and I give it to you today.
Host [00:07:39]:
Will you show me that you are with me at this moment? My deepest desire is to know you more. Right now I receive more of your presence and power in my life. Will you help me walk in childlike trust in my relationship with you as I continue to step into the greater things that you have for me? Help me to go throughout this day more aware of your love for me and how you are leading me. In Jesus' name, amen.
