[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
“Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock.
O God, enthroned above the cherubim, display your radiant glory to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Show us your mighty power. Come to rescue us! Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.”
– Psalm 80:1-3 NLT
In what ways does God “show us His mighty power” and more importantly how does He rally that power through us today? Ephesians 3:20 gives us a clue: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” His power at work within us.
Well how does that happen? Consider the verse Judges 6:34. Most translations render it simply as, “The Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon.” But a different Bible translation can add a whole new perspective to this verse. The Amplified Bible reads: “But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with Himself and took possession of him…” Wow, what a powerful verse! It really caught my attention. The Old Testament records this experience as happening to certain people as God equipped them with His power for His tasks. But what about New Testament times? What about today? If Gideon had lived in New Testament times, perhaps the verse would read: “The Spirit of the Lord clothed Himself with Gideon.” Believers today enjoy the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
If you are God’s child, the Holy Spirit lives within you. The apostle Paul writes, “Haven’t you yet learned that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit God gave you, and that he lives within you? Your own body does not belong to you. For God has bought you with a great price. So use every part of your body to give glory back to God, because he owns it.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, LB)
As I considered this, I changed the verse to make it even more personal: “And the Spirit of the Lord clothed Himself with Meryl and took possession of her.” Put your name in there and be overwhelmed to know that the Spirit of God has clothed Himself with you, giving you His power and all that He is to accomplish His purposes through you. In her book It’s Incredible, author Ann Kiemel Anderson notes, “The challenge of my life is trying to be what Jesus would be if He lived in person where I do.” Yes, He lives in you. The question is, are you allowing Him to live through you?
Discussion Questions:
- If you know Jesus, then He does live in person where you do. In what ways can you allow Him to live His life through you?
- Share a time when you felt totally inadequate for a task and God came through for you.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]