There is Power, Power

I love Pinterest. Oooh, I love it. In fact, I occasionally suffer from what is commonly known as Pinsomnia.

Today I typed a word into the Pinterest search bar: “Power.”

The results? First of all, there was this little nugget of wisdom: “With great power comes great electricity bill.” Yeah, I thought that was pretty clever.

As for the rest of the results, I was dismayed to say the least! I got an overwhelming number of results relating to “Flower Power” (Umm, would someone like to explain to me how that ever became a trend? Because quite frankly, I don’t see the appeal!) The other results were even more disappointing. A conglomerate of half-naked women appeared on my screen with a weak quote captioned beneath each picture. I was astounded! The results included pictures from various websites and magazines selling assorted items such as “Power-Trip Crop Top,” “Power Push-Up Bra,” and “Power Fishnet Stockings.”

That is not power.

That is the illusion of power. That is bondage, lies, sex, and self-degradation masquerading as power. In fact, degrading oneself in such a way will not empower you, it will weaken you, and force you to kneel as a slave in worship of that which will strengthen its hold over you. There certainly is power in things like taking mostly-naked pictures in “Power Fishnet Stockings,” but you should know that you will not hold the power. Things and people will hold the power over you.

So let’s talk about the matter at hand, here: what is power?

Now, this is the part where I could easily give you the ole cliché Webster’s dictionary definition, pat you on the head, and send you on your way, right? Well, I have never been one to take the easy road! Besides, what does Webster know, anyway? I mean, he only wrote a dictionary. What a slacker! Let’s refer to some ultimate authority.

Although I would like to encompass the full perspective of what the Bible says about power, I’m not sure that I would be able to fit it all into this entry! Did you know that God refers to power over 270 times in the Bible? So clearly, there are some pretty important concepts that He wanted us to glean from His Word about power.

1. You don’t have any.

Yep. You don’t have any power. The Bible is quite clear about a few things that do have power, none of which are you.

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth.” -Deuteronomy 8:17-18a

 “No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death.” -Ecclesiastes 8:8a

“Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by His power; they rise up when they despair of life.” -Job 24:22

2. Sin is powerful.

Sin is not only powerful, but also costly. Namely, it will cost your life. Sin is so powerful that it demands nothing short of death for those who partake in it. Christ, however, lived a sinless life—a life which did not require the payment of earthly or eternal death. And yet, Christ subjected Himself to death. The only man in history that was not required to die in payment of His sin did die in payment of our sin. Sin is powerful.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 6:23

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved.” -Ephesians 2:4-5

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” -1 Corinthians 15:56

3. God is MORE powerful.

He is mighty. Above all others, He is powerful.

“Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to You, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For You will render to a man according to his work.” -Psalms 62:11-12

“Ascribe power to God whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.” -Psalms 68:34

“Behold, God is exalted in His power; who is a teacher like Him?” -Job 36:22

“So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory.” -Psalm 63:2

“Let Your work be shown to your servants, and Your glorious power to their children.” -Psalm 90:16

“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure.” -Psalms 147:5

“Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength! We will sing and praise Your power.” -Psalm 21:13

“But for this purpose [I] have raised you up, to show you my power, so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” -Exodus 9:16

4. God empowers us!

Doesn’t it seem a little unrealistic to buy into #1 in light of the fact that we seem to have the power to do basically whatever we want? Here’s the thing: Yes, we do utilize power, but no we do not utilize our own power. Big difference. The Bible makes it clear that even the breath which fills our lungs is a gift from God. Nothing that we are able to achieve is achieved due to our own strength. But God is not a stingy God. He lavishes His blessings upon us. He is faithful to provide strength to the weak, and He is faithful to provide power to the powerless. God delights in empowering the weak to shame the strong.

“He gives power to the faint, and to Him who has no might He increases strength.” -Isaiah 40:29

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;” -1 Corinthians 1:27

“And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing before you well.” -Acts 4:7-10

“Nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” -Acts 17:25

“Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: ‘I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you;'” -Isaiah 42:5-6a

“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” -Job 33:4

“For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.” -Colossians 1:29

“For He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but in dealing with you we will live with Him by the power of God.” -2 Corinthians 13:4

5. Christ’s blood has unimaginable power!

Have you ever heard the old hymn “There Is Power In the Blood”?

There is power, power, wonder working power
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.

Wonder-working power, indeed! Remember when we established that the power of sin requires death? (#2) How much more powerful, then, is the blood by which we are redeemed! Yes, the wages of sin is death, BUT, by Christ’s blood we may attain life once more. He has given us a gift—eternal life. We still must pay the earthly consequences of our sin, which is earthly death, but we were spared eternal death through the power of Christ’s redeeming blood. Resurrection from eternal death? What wonderful power that is!

“But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.” -Isaiah 53:5

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” -Hebrews 9:14

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” -Philippians 3:10-11

Here’s a quick endnote for you: for those who are forgiven and redeemed through Christ’s POWERFUL blood, sin is defeated! #2 is dead! (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) Hooray! Praise God!