God is All-Powerful
Each week in our Great God series, we have been talking about an attribute, a characteristic of God. Over the last four weeks, we have talked about God’s GLORY, God’s JUSTICE, God’s GOODNESS, God’s WISDOM, God’s LOVE, God’s Mercy… And TODAY we are talking about His POWER.
Since December, Kristy and I have been watching “Little House on the Prairie.” Please don’t judge me! Little House was a television series that aired in the early 1980’s and was about a family living in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the late 1800’s, about 10 years after the Civil War.
They used lanterns at night for light. Wood-fueled stoves for heat…and they traveled by horse and buggy. There was no electricity. They did not plug their phones in at night. They did not have televisions, computers, or electric cars.
People who lived in the 1800’s did not know what it was like to feel that anxiety we sometimes feel in the morning when we wake up, and our phone is almost dead because we forgot to charge it overnight.
Honestly, I confess that I get hit with a small wave of anxiety when my phone's power drops below twenty percent, and the battery icon turns from green to red. I turn the brightness down. The phone goes into low-power mode. I start calculating how long I have before the phone dies. I even text my wife and let her know my phone is about to die…it hits 5% battery because I can’t find one of the 50 phone chargers I have bought in the past month…
I think many of us are living spiritually the way we live when our phones are on low power mode. We are trying to lead families while drained. We are trying to fight temptation while exhausted. You wake up already tired. You promise to be patient. You snap before the kids are out the door for school. It happens so often, you start wondering why you feel so spiritually weak…
But I have good news for you. Limitless Power is one of God’s attributes, and it is available for you today! I am praying for you to know and experience this power over the next twenty minutes, so that you leave charged up and ready for the week.
Let’s read about God’s power from Ephesians 1:19-21.
Ephesians 1:19-21 (NLT2)
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.
The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available for you as a follower of Jesus, right now. And since God wants us to UNDERSTAND his power…Let’s stop and ask God to help us understand His POWER.
“Father, we thank you that you want us to understand your power, and we ask that you would open our eyes and hearts to grasp the immensity of your power. In Jesus name. Amen.”
There are numerous other places Paul describes God’s power. He writes to the church in Colosse.
Colossians 1:16-17 (NLT2)
for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
ALL creation was created THROUGH Jesus and FOR Jesus. And at PRESENT, JESUS holds ALL creation together. That is POWER. God is the SOURCE of all that exists. The Galaxies. The Planets. Trillions of stars. The earth. God has created it all, and nothing in creation competes for dominance. If God’s hand is open, nothing can force Him to close it. In a game of Mercy, God always wins.
That leads us to the first thing we need to understand about God’s power.
Nothing created can LIMIT, resist, or PREVENT God’s will
This is a difficult concept for us to grasp. We see earthly examples of power when it goes corrupt. We see corrupt businessmen, corrupt politicians, and corrupt church leaders. We see breaking news articles about the corruption of power and wealth that are involved in child and human trafficking.
From Doctors, attorneys, Judges, Police Officers, Teachers, Pastors, Husbands, and wives, we see daily examples of people who abuse the power they have and cause harm to others. But God’s limitless power is PERFECTED power.
God will do anything that aligns with his character. His power aligns with who he has already declared himself to be. His power aligns with his GOODNESS, LOVE, JUSTICE, and WISDOM. God LIMITS his POWER to only that which works out his will, and He never uses His power in a way that contradicts His character.
And, He is so GOOD and powerful that even the bad things that occur in our lives, He works them out for GOOD because His POWER aligns with his character. That means He is so powerful that even what He hates, He can redeem. And, nothing in all creation can limit or prevent God’s will from happening.
I used to love school when we had a substitute teacher. I would do everything I could to frustrate their plans to teach the class. Throw paper planes…make noises…argue…
But I can’t limit or prevent God’s will from unfolding. That’s why I often pray that God would keep me out of His way while He works. There is nothing CREATED that can bully him into a corner and overpower Him. There is no CREATED circumstance that surprises Him.
And, this is an area we can find hope.
The diagnosis that intimidates you right now is CREATED.
The worry that keeps looping in your mind is CREATED.
The relationship struggle that weighs on you is CREATED.
The FINANCES that keep you awake at night are created.
The fear and anxiety that sometimes paralyze you are CREATED.
These created things feel large. They feel urgent. They feel overwhelming. But they cannot FRUSTRATE or ELIMINATE the will of GOD. And, personally, I have found that the reasons some things FEEL large and overwhelming is because I often live like I am the source of POWER.
When three of my four daughters were diagnosed with T1D, I was determined that the doctors did not know what they were talking about and that there must be a cure. My first internet search from the Hospital was “Cure for Type One Diabetes.” Frustrated with what I found, in time, I found a “Do-it-yourself” community that taught others how to hack insulin pumps and create an algorithm that reads what the blood sugar number is, and adjusts insulin automatically as it rises and falls.
That was in 2019. I built that system for all three of my girls. And now, the FDA and tech companies are finally catching up…And…advancements in cell therapies indicate that there has been some success with curing Type One Diabetes.
But my personality is to fix the people around me. I want to fix the church. I want to fix my neighbors. I want to fix the brakes on my car. And the struggle I have is because of my belief that I have to fix the problem; I begin to feel like everything depends on me. And, subconsciously, I could begin to believe that I am responsible for generating the POWER myself, and not rely on God’s power to work through me. There is a difference.
As followers of Jesus, there is a difference between solving crises in our own power and allowing God’s power to flow through us. If God had packaged us when he created us, he would have stamped our packaging with the words, “Batteries not required…” God does not expect you to generate any power. Period.
If you want to experience the power of God flowing through you…understand that…
Our obedience is REQUIRED, but our strength is NOT
If you want to UNDERSTAND and EXPERIENCE the POWER of GOD dissolving fear and crisis in your life, OBEDIENCE is required. It’s possible that the reason addiction is hard to overcome is that an addict is trying to overcome by WILLPOWER rather than SURRENDER. It’s possible that marriages get stuck because a spouse demands change from their husband or wife, but they are not SURRENDERING their heart to God in OBEDIENCE. If we are unwilling to SURRENDER, we are trying to LIVE in our STRENGTH and POWER, not HIS. Our POWER runs out. Our power is LIMITED. But when we live surrendered lives in OBEDIENCE, our obedience places us under the mighty hand and power of God.
If God is all-powerful, why does it matter whether I choose to live in obedience? If God only wanted his will accomplished, He could have created a world of programmed machines. But instead, he created us in HIS image, and he invites us to be HIS co-workers.
1 Corinthians 3:9 (ESV)
For we are God’s fellow workers…
God doesn't need our STRENGTH or HELP to accomplish His will, but He PERFECTLY chose to involve us so we can experience the JOY and AWE of His POWER flowing through us. And, when you walk in humble obedience to God, you are declaring that God’s power is more RELIABLE than your CONTROL. And when you live in SURRENDERED OBEDIENCE…
God’s power keeps the MISSION from becoming about ME
I don’t like to admit it, but I can be pretty selfish at times. I don’t want to go for a walk with my wife because I am tired. I don’t want to do something with the girls because I need a break. And, honestly, if I am reliant on my own power, it is easy to make my mission in life all about ME. What do I want to do? How does this make me feel? Do I like doing this?
When I am operating in my power, life becomes all about me. Like the country song goes, “I want to talk about me. I want to talk about I. I want to talk about number one or my me my. What I think. What I like. What I know. What I want. What I feel.”
But when we submit ourselves to God, His mighty power will work through us, and He will keep the mission about HIM, not us.
Ephesians 1:19-21 (NLT2)
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead.
The mission of God has always been sustained by the resurrection power of Christ. Humanly speaking, death was irreversible. Jesus was not unconscious. He was not barely alive. He was not resuscitated. He was dead.
His heart had stopped beating. His lungs were no longer drawing breath. Oxygen had stopped flowing through His bloodstream.
By the third day, the body of Jesus had already begun the process of decomposition. Stiff. Drained. The stench of death within the tomb was strong…No one was standing outside the tomb, wondering if Jesus might sit up and walk out. Then…resurrection power showed up.
His heart began to beat again. Oxygen filled His lungs. Blood began to circulate. Cells that had begun breaking down were restored. The impossible was reversed.
That is the RESURRECTION Power of GOD available for YOU.
God doesn’t just have the POWER to create LIFE and the Universe…God has the POWER to REVERSE death and DECAY. If God can reverse death, there is nothing in this room beyond His ability to restore.
Jeremiah 32:17 (NLT2)
“O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!”
Nothing is too hard for GOD! He CAN rescue from hopelessness and despair. He CAN rescue from addiction. He CAN restore marriages. He CAN repair relationships. He CAN change habits. He CAN bring peace. He CAN bring healing. He CAN. He CAN. He IS able.
There is NOTHING God cannot do!
So, trust him, trust the resurrection power of Jesus to do what you cannot. Tomorrow, stop trying to control the outcomes and stop trying to fix everything. Stop trying to power through life on a battery charged to five percent. Before you check your phone tomorrow morning, surrender one thing that you have been trying to fix.
Take a moment of silent prayer and surrender to the mighty hand of God.