I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Ephesians 3:16 (NIV)
The morning began in its usual manner: trip to the gym, walk and feed Parker, a dancing Parker waiting for tidbits as I enjoyed my latte and bagel on the back patio. As Mark was making his coffee, he commented that the power had gone out. It seemed odd because it was a beautiful morning — clear, warm, and sunny. The last outage occurred in the middle of a monsoon and was easily dismissed as another weather related incident. But what was up today?
Neighbors met in the middle of the street to verify that we all were affected. Back to the house to wait.
It’s a funny thing about electricity — you easily take it for granted until it stops. No coffee, no fans, no AC, no computer, no phones, no lights, no refrigerator, no hot water, no garage door opener, no clocks. All of our creature comforts are disbanded for a period of time, as yet unknown. I assumed that it would return any minute, but it didn’t.
So, what to do? I gathered my latte and sat outside to read my Bible and journal. It was a perfect time to putter in my yard and courtyard. But it’s a strange phenomena to go out to the garage to get some clippers and automatically attempt to turn on the light — NOT. I cleaned up the kitchen, at least we had water.
All of a sudden, I heard a beep from the clock. After two hours, the power had returned. I reset all the timers and clocks and continued with my day, barely inconvenienced.
A couple of thoughts: imagine living through a hurricane, tornado or earthquake that requires days and weeks to return to normal. Patience and perseverance are necessary every moment of every day.
It also occurred to me that God promises to be the source of my power each day. Yet, when life is good and all is well, it’s easy to go about my day and never even think of checking in with my Heavenly Father. I’ve got it handled. But this attitude sets me up for failure, weakness, pride, self-sufficiency, and bad decisions.
But if my life is out of control and everything is falling down around me, it’s painfully obvious that I don’t have the strength or power to get through the day, often even an hour, without seeking God’s face. I have a little plaque in my bookcase that reads,”Good Morning, THIS IS GOD…I will be handling all your PROBLEMS today. I will not REQUIRE YOUR help.”
Relinquishing control is the best thing I can do as I plug into His strength and power. He is everything I need to meet the challenges of my life. The power is turned back on