Jesus is our Source
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will
bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NIV)
This little guy is very bright. He knows he can’t shine unless he plugs himself into the power source.
A Few Random Thoughts
The Christian’s source of power is a Person.
We aren’t tapping into a mystical, invisible power like “the Force,” to use as we please. Instead we come into our Lord’s presence when we need help. But Jesus Christ is not our genii or our servant. He’s also not our personal Santa Claus.
He’s our Creator and our Master.
Our Savior has His own agenda and His own ideas. I can trust in His mercy and tender care, because He’s my Shepherd. But I don’t always get what I want.
Yet I can choose to keep trusting Him anyway.
Short-circuiting the Divine Connection
Often we block ourselves from receiving our Heavenly Father’s help, because of a sinful heart attitude.
Indulging in anger toward God destroys our ability to rely on Him in painful or scary situations. We aren’t going to deepen spiritually if every time life becomes difficult, we scold the Almighty as if He did something wrong, then stomp off to sulk in a corner.
Sinking into self-pity weakens us. There’s no strength in self-pity.
The Holy Spirit also isn’t interested in who is to blame, because He already knows. We’re the ones who might be surprised. Our Divine Comforter will help us out of the mess, but we need to stop throwing “fire-bombs” of accusation at other people.
Plugging into the Divine Power Source
In a crisis, praising the Lord is one of the most powerful weapons we have. It breaks through all the emotional turmoil and causes our hearts to begin to connect with the One who can fix things.
Take time to be grateful. Thanking the Lord for our past and current blessings cleanses our soul of emotional garbage.
Also, we can dig out Scripture promises which address our particular problem and pray these verses back to God.
Doing all three strengthens our ability to stand in faith, even during the worst crisis.
My Last Suggestion:
Roll the phrase “apart from me you can do nothing” around in your head for a few days and let the Holy Spirit speak to you.
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