Plugged In

2 Peter 1:3 NIV God’s divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

We are a world completely dependent on power, yet on most days, we take it for granted. We flip the light switch expecting the lights to come on. We turn the key expecting the engine to start. All without considering the source of power. But ask anyone who has gone through an extended power outage and they have a new understanding of its importance and our dependency on it.

Sadly, many Christ followers give little thought to their moment-by-moment dependency on the power of God. It was never meant for us to live unplugged and powerless, as if the power of God was some optional accessory to our life. God’s power is meant to be at the very core of our life in Christ. In 1 Corinthians the apostle Paul makes this very clear, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (4:2) and “my message was not with persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (2:4). In his second letter to Timothy, he not only re-emphasized the importance of God’s power, but also identifying those who taught otherwise: “Those having a form of godliness but denying its power, have nothing to do with such people.” (3:5).

So, what is this power of God? There is certainly the power of God that refers to God being omnipotent. God’s omnipotence means He not only has ultimate power over all things, but He is also the source of all power. He Himself is limitless in strength, wisdom, love, holiness, and the ability to complete His perfect will. However, this reference to God’s power is the power of the Holy Spirit that is imparted to us through Christ. Only through Jesus Christ is our greatest weakness the gateway to God’s greatest demonstration of power in our lives. This is the power that enables our life of faith.

God’s power is His ability to rescue anyone and transform them from the darkest sin into His marvelous light. His ability to provide everything out of nothing, to bring victory when defeat seems inevitable; to protect His people and enable them to do the impossible; to overcome sickness and death; and to provide joy, peace, and hope when everything appears to be lost.

God’s power is always there to accomplish his perfect will and bring glory to his name! His power is present when we are aligned with God’s desires and purposes. When we find ourselves feeling powerless, with unanswered prayer, it is often because we are asking God to join us instead of us joining him in His work. John 15:5 TPT gives a vivid picture of His power in us when we are joined with him; “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you are powerless.” We are called to be attached and there receive His power.

The promise of 2 Peter 1:3 is great: that God has already provided us everything we need for life and godliness. But often, the source of that provision is missed when we read this verse. It is through God’s divine power we receive this great promise, and it comes when we abide in Him, plugged into the true source of life and power. Like owning a new fan, while it can be admired for its design and appearance, it will never fulfill its purpose until it is plugged into a power source.

Plug into God’s power and ask for His power to fill you as you abide in Him and then know the reality of Ephesians 1:19: “so that you will know the immeasurable, unlimited, and surpassing greatness of His power is in us who believe.”

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

Isaiah 40:29 NIV He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

2 Timothy 1:7 TPT For God will never give you the spirit of fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control.

Ephesians 3:20 NLT Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Acts 1:8 NLT But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Matthew 24:30 NLT And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Mark 12:24 NIV Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

Luke 1:35 NIV The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Luke 4:13-14 NIV When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

Luke 6:17-19 NIV He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

Romans 15:13 NIV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

2 Thessalonians 1:11 TPT We constantly pray that our God will empower you to live worthy of all that he has invited you to experience. And we pray that by his power all the pleasures of goodness and all works inspired by faith would fill you completely.

1 Chronicles 29:11 NLT Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.