This week I want to address the subject of feeling powerless. I have been talking to many people who are in despair for a multitude of reasons. It’s something that at one time or another we all deal with and often we find that hopelessness jumps into the same wagon.
We see a high level of anxiety in our world today. We live in a complex global world that is increasingly growing yet shrinking at the same time. Our far-off neighbors are accessible to us via a quick text or email so in that sense we are shrinking. In another sense, we are growing in extraordinary technological ways. But with this complex world, comes a sense of fear of forces that threaten to destroy us. Terrorism is a real threat and the safety we once knew is under attack.
Let’s face it, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, we are no longer in Kansas City, the place of security with Auntie Em.
As Christians, we verbalize that God is our peace, but peace evades us. We say our trust is in Jesus, but our lives do not reflect this. Our hearts long for God but we wonder if He cares or is really there.
Beloved friends, God is still on the throne. He has not decided that His job is just too difficult and has quit. Jesus sits on the right hand of the Father, and He has not abdicated or left us as orphans. As Christians, we are seated with Him (positionally) in heavenly places. We live on earth, but our eternal connection is with Him.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6)
I previously read an article about auto-driven cars and considered the fact that my hands would not be on the wheel of the car, I realized how difficult this would be for me to give up control of driving the car. They say it’s not easy to teach a dog new tricks and that may be true; however, I propose that it’s not easy to teach anyone to let go of the wheel. We will feel powerless, and I bet some of us will put our foot on the brake that isn’t even there! In our times of hopelessness, a surge of insecurity and anxiety may rise and perhaps even an attitude of drilling down to see how to get out of this pit through self-efforts. And yet the next day we feel the same sense of dread and helplessness. All our efforts feel as though we are in the back seat of an auto driven car.
So, let’s get practical. What do we do when we feel powerless? It’s easy to say look to Jesus; trust Him. But when the tide of anxiety rises and the feeling of hopelessness are like a tsunami, that may not be possible. But what is possible is to draw from the well of deposits you have made spending time in God’s Word; spending time in His Presence– filling your tank to overflow.
The Apostle Paul must have had days when he felt hopeless. He was beaten, shipwrecked, despised by his own, imprisoned. But he found within a deep well of peace and comfort in His Lord. He had made daily deposits in his spiritual bank account so that His trust level exceeded his level of hopelessness. Friends, this is the one needed thing in which Jesus commended Mary. This is what Jesus meant when He told His disciples to seek Him FIRST and His righteousness and God would find a way. And this is what He is reminding us of today. His Presence must be more overwhelming in our lives than our circumstances but that takes intentionality to allow His Holy Spirit to fill our lives– daily, drop by drop into our messy lives; our painful lives; our lives of despair. And the good news…. is this– the Gospel will make a way. It is the Good News of Christ’s coming and sending His Holy Spirit to come to our aid that does the heavy lifting of removing hopelessness and filling us with hope.
