By God's Spirit

Chuckle: When God finished the creation of Adam, He stepped back, scratched His head, and said, "I can do better than that!"

Quote: "Who is the third who walks always beside you? When I count, there are only you and I together. But when I look ahead up the white road There is always another one walking with you." --T. S. Eliot

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty (Zechariah 4:6 NIV). "But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord," (Micah 3:8a NIV).

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the challenges you face you each day? You may feel that the problems facing you are just too great to overcome. Do they seem too massive for you to handle? When you awake, do you say "good morning Lord," or "Good Lord, it's morning?" Did you feel this way when you awoke this morning and thought about the day ahead?

We must remember that we serve an omniscient (all-knowing) God. He knows about and understands everything that concerns you and fully recognizes your inability to handle life's challenges in your own strength. But, He enables you to face them in the power of His Spirit. This means we are not limited by our own abilities and wisdom, but have the unlimited resources of our heavenly Father at our disposal -- if we but trust and rely on Him in every situation.

Many believe that to survive and excel in this life they must be tough, self-reliant, strong, independent, and unwavering. But God tells us that in our weakness, the strength of His Spirit is revealed. It's only in the power of the Spirit that anything gets done that has lasting value. "apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5c NIV). It's easy for us to say we trust God's Spirit to guide, teach, and direct us when at the same time, we go through life trying to solve all our problems in our own strength as if God doesn't exist.

I'm reminded of the funny story about a man who was working on the steep roof of his house. He lost his footing and was tumbling toward the eave and the inevitable life-threatening fall to the ground. In his plight he prayed, "Lord, please save me!" Then with relief in his voice he said, "oh, never mind Lord; I've caught on a nail." This humorous little story reminds us that if he had truly been depending upon God's Spirit, he would have prayed something like this: "Thank you, Lord, for placing that nail where it would break my fall." How many times do we fail to give credit to God for inexplicable occurrences that we call good luck or good fortune or credit them to our exceptional abilities.

Today, let's pledge together to live for God with complete trust in Him rather than our own strength. Let's seek Him in every situation and we will all be amazed at what God can accomplish in us and through us in the power of His Spirit.

Love, Jerry & Dotse