Connect to God's Love and Power

by Alexandra Copeland

One of the worst things that a person can experience in all of life is a feeling of powerlessness. It is bondage, and it is exactly where the prince of darkness wants every person to be. In Mark 11:23(NLT), Jesus Christ said, “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.”  A mountain can be the problem or issue in life that causes us to feel powerless. Perhaps it is a hurdle that we’ve tried repeatedly to get over, but instead of taking one step forward, we seem to be taking two steps backwards. Jesus said through faith, we can do something as powerful as move a mountain. This is the exact opposite of powerlessness, and one of the most valuable things we can do in life is try and attain this level of faith and power for ourselves.

We are spiritual beings having a human experience, and it isn’t an experience that lasts a very long time. We’ve got a limited allotment of time on this planet, and once our earth suit gives out, we no longer have a legal right to stay here. Heavenly Father never violates His Word. He decreed that earth would be the habitation of humans, that it is a place where humans reign, and this is the way it must be. Without a physical body, we have to say ‘audios’ to planet earth and move on to the next part of our journey in Christ. So, we need to be clear that the body is not the core of who we are, it is temporary and aging daily, but our spirits are everlasting in Christ.

God repeatedly warns us in His Word not to become consumed with the flesh. His goal for us is that our bodies are governed by His Spirit that dwells within. This is the only way to maximize the earth experience. God tells us in Galatians 5:17 that the body has a nature, and the nature of the body is the complete opposite of what the Spirit wants. The body doesn’t have the capability to govern a spiritual life, because that’s not why God created it. The body is His temple. He lives on the inside of us, so if we allow ourselves to indulge every whim of the body, we will end up defiling the place where God wants to live.

Again, the body is a temporary house. It doesn’t have any lasting power, and we don’t have any power of our own. Our power comes from God. We’re built to be conduits of His love, which is the most powerful thing that exists for all eternity. If you have a machine with a cord and a plug at the end, but don’t plug it into an outlet or socket, the machine has absolutely no power. It has potential, but no power. As soon as you connect the plug into the source of power, life is pumped through the cord and the thing connected to the other side of the cord begins to serve the function it was purposed for. Without being connected to the power, no purpose is served, and a machine is just a lifeless thing. This is an analogy that hopefully helps to understand what Jesus Christ said in John 15:5(NLT), “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” He is the one who reestablished our spiritual connection to the Father by giving his life on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. He made it possible for you and me to be conduits of God’s love and power.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus Christ told the disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them, and they would be bold witnesses who would tell people about Jesus Christ. The one thing we can’t forget in the analogy about the machine is that it has a purpose, and this purpose is the motivating factor for needing power. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is unequivocally and absolutely necessary that love be the motivating factor for our desire to live with power. The greatest love that you and I can share is to tell someone about our Master Jesus and introduce them to the love of God.

Any feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness we may have can be eradicated by our motivation and commitment to love greater through God’s power. Philippians 1:6 assures us that God began the good work within us and He will continue it until it is finished on the day Christ returns. Philippians 2:13 tells us that He is working in us to will and do of HIS good pleasure. He works in us through us His Holy Spirit. Let’s change our motivation in life to be aligned with God’s Will and Word. His power is activated through our willingness to share the good news of Jesus Christ. This is the message that connects us all to God’s love and power, and to all the blessings we’ll ever need. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.