Our electricity quit working one morning this past week. It wasn’t off long, but long enough to remind me of how I take such a convenience for granted. When I got up that morning the lights didn’t work, the furnace didn’t work (and it was about 10 degrees outside), the coffee pot didn’t work, the microwave didn’t work, etc. These things are always available. Thankfully we have a gas fireplace in the basement that doesn’t require electricity. And thankfully we have water even when the power is off. So it wasn’t like we were desperate or anything like that. The power came back on after a couple hours and everything went back to normal.
But it was a gentle reminder of just how much we take things like electricity for granted. We get so accustomed to having electricity power our microwaves and water heaters and coffee pots that when it isn’t available, even for a couple of hours, we have panic attacks! Yeah, our electric bills seem to be much higher this year, but what would we do without electricity?! How thankful we should be for those who risk their lives repairing dangerous electrical lines in all kinds of weather so we can dry our hair and toast our bread and warm our houses – and, of course, watch TV. We certainly take these blessings for granted.
Being without electrical power for a couple of hours also reminded me of how much I take God’s power for granted. Just imagine for a moment of how much our lives would be affected if all of a sudden God’s power was no longer available …
… the laws of nature would no longer be sustained (Heb. 1:3) – tides wouldn’t be controlled, the earth’s rotation wouldn’t be sustained, seeds wouldn’t sprout, gravity wouldn’t be consistent, ice wouldn’t melt, the seasons wouldn’t change, etc.
… the power to change people’s hearts would no longer be there (Gal. 2:20) – without the transforming power of God and His Spirit we could never learn to live on a higher level, to know love and peace that defies explanation (Eph. 3:19, Phil. 4:6-7), to be growing within while decaying without (2 Cor. 4:16), to be merciful (Luke 6:36), to be forgiving (Eph. 4;32), to rise above common human traits (Luke 6:32-35), to access the Spirit’s power, love and self-discipline (2 Tim. 1:7), to become like God (1 John 4:16-17).
… the power to daily battle sin and Satan would not be available (Rom. 8:1-2) – there would be no power to resist temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), no power to be saved from sin (Rom. 1:16), no power of the resurrection of Christ to sustain new life (Phil. 3:10), no divine power to defeat evil strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4). In short, we would be without hope, without promise and without God in this world (Eph. 2:12).
But, as we all know (yet sometimes take for granted) God never has a power outage, no black out or brown out, no temporary disruption of His awesome power in any way. The next time your electricity even flutters, let it remind you to never take God’s power for granted. When you turn on your microwave, let it remind you of God’s constant power!
- Joe Chesser preaches for the Fruitland Church of Christ, Fruitland, MO. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.cofcfruitland.com/
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