For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love, and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)
One of the biggest story lines of the after-quarantine PGA tournaments is about the emergence of a larger and stronger version of Sunday’s winner, Bryson DeChambeau. There is much speculation about what can be gained by being more powerful. I think the jury is out on the answer to that question. Time will tell how it affects the game, but when it comes to golf, most of us believe that having more power is better than having less.
Here’s a bigger question: How much power do we need to live an effective life? I think everyone realizes there is a finite limit to what our individual body can accomplish, but where can we get more power to accomplish what God has for us to do?
For more power in life, we can access the Source of all power. God offers us access to his power. The power that created heaven and earth and us. The power that Jesus laid down to come to the earth as a man. The power that Jesus did not call on when his life was threatened by the angry mob that was chanting, “Crucify him!” The power that raised him from the dead and set in motion a revolutionary change in our ability to relate to God.
The world is a tough place to live using only our own strength.Jesus offers us the very power of God through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. He invites us to join him in the kingdom of God. The kingdom is a place where we can live and breathe with his power, his love, and his self-discipline. If we want to truly follow Jesus, we will need power over the things that would defeat us—power over our need for power, our desire for dominance, our striving after all that the world tempts us with. Jesus said that if we had faith, we could move a mountain into the sea. That would be impossible in our own strength. It would require some real power, which only God could provide. It will take no less power to live the life we have been called to live. The world is a tough place to live using only our own strength.
More power. I want all I can get. I want to run and not grow weary and walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).
I want to make it all the way to the end of my race of life. For this, I will need all the power that God will grace me with. He says it is available to me and it will come to me as I need it and can use it appropriately.
I don’t have the wisdom to know exactly how God works, but I know that the more I submit to him, the more of his power he can entrust to me. When I become less and he becomes more, his power is able to move through me more freely—not to get me what I want but to accomplish what he wants. As an example, he wants me to be a light in the world. He will accomplish that through his power, love, and self-discipline. I don’t need to be afraid. He has unlimited and unstoppable power. My job is to let that power flow through me to the world around me.
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Linda Ballard
July 9, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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