Spirit Power
Allow me to share with you a common scenario over here in Kim Gentry Meyer land: I have good intentions and set out determined to make good decisions. But then, as Paul summed up so succinctly, I do the thing I hate (Romans 7:15¹). In other words, even though I don’t like making bad decisions, I do it, anyway. I literally do the thing I set out to avoid doing. What’s worse, I’m a mid-lifer…I’ve been around long enough to know better!
My lack of ability to make something positive stick or to make the right decision can be demoralizing. It’s like making it halfway up a steep hill and then tripping and rolling all the way back down. I dust myself off and try again, but the same thing keeps happening.
Well, it turns out we weren’t wired to go it alone, friends. We were wired to depend on the Holy Spirit to supercharge our lives. Our struggles start making so much more sense when we consider what we’ve been missing. We have a super power we often aren’t even tapping into…Spirit Power!
And it’s not just for the big things…we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us with the little things, too. We sometimes think we should only trouble God with big things - with holy things (at least I do). But over and over in scripture we are told to bring our troubles to Him and to depend on Him, not ourselves. He didn’t say only bring certain problems that He deems worthy of heavenly intervention. No, He says bring all our troubles (I Peter 5:7²; Psalms 55:22³; Philippians 4:6-7⁴; Psalms 62:8⁵).
Feeling blocked in your writing? Ask Him to help you find the words. Have an important deadline looming but can’t seem to get the project finished? Ask Him to increase your concentration and inspire your work. Need more willpower in an area? Ask him for help! We’re told in scripture that the Holy Spirit will intervene for us when we don’t have the words to ask (Romans 8:26⁶), so we can literally just cry out, “Help!” and know that He will hear us and understand. I find it hard to pray for myself sometimes, especially when I’m in the thick of it, so this verse is a great comfort to me; so much so that I made it the theme of Verse 2 of my song, Spirit of God:
Spirit of God
You know our weakness
Your prayers for us
Go beyond words
Come pray for us
Come pray for us
Come pray for us
Spirit of God
May we all remember to tap into Holy Spirit Power as we continue to lean into our callings and face our battles. What a blessing that we don’t fight alone.
Reflection Questions
Can you relate to the struggle of doing the thing you hate? What areas of life do you find this happening the most? How can you apply “Spirit Power” to these situations?
If you’re like me, you like to try to do things on your own. Sometimes I call on “Spirit Power” too late in the game, AFTER I’ve already made a mess of things. I have to remind myself daily that I wasn’t designed to do things in my own power. What helps you remember this?
What common theme do you see running through all the verses below? I encourage you to spend some time letting them soak in.
¹Romans 7:15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. (NLT)
²1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (NLT)
³Psalms 55:22 Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. (NLT)
⁴Philippians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)
⁵Psalms 62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (NIV)
⁶Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (NIV)