Empowered

“And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”
Acts 1:8 (The Message)

Have you ever looked at what God is asking of you and wondered if He got the wrong person?

When Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, I can imagine their first reaction looked a lot like yours and mine would today. A long pause, followed by the quiet, sinking question of exactly how any of them were supposed to pull that off.

The answer Jesus gives in Acts 1:8 would have stumped them. He tells them they are going to receive power. Why is that so curious? In a world ruled by Rome, where the only people who possessed real power were either born into it or took it at the end of a sword, that word meant something enormous. 

Caesar had power. Kings had power. Fishermen and tax collectors from Galilee did not. And yet that is precisely who Jesus is sending out, because the Kingdom He is building doesn't grow through force or politics or the right connections. It expands through witnesses, carried forward by a Gospel of peace, fueled entirely by the power of the Holy Spirit living inside ordinary people.

What these disciples were about to discover, and what you need to hear today, is that God never expected any of us to carry out His mission in our own strength. The work He gives you to do isn't about your personality, your persuasiveness, or your position. It is God’s power, working in and through you. That changes how you approach the impossible things He asks of you.

The disciples didn't feel qualified either. But when the Holy Spirit showed up, ordinary fishermen turned the world upside down. You're not on your own, and you never will be.

Prayer: Lord, I confess I spend more time striving to make things happen rather trusting Your Spirit to work through me. Help me stop depending on my own strength and start relying on the power of Your Spirit that You've already placed inside me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.