SPIRIT OF POWER

By Rick Mathes

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

If it isn’t worth dying for it isn’t worth living for. It takes a holy courage to be in God’s will because there is often danger and risks involved Satan is the lion that prowls the world to every vestige of Jesus. We stand alone because Jesus clearly states, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.”

This spirit of power and boldness is on every page of God’s Word.

• Body like Abraham
• Suffer like Moses
• Flee like Jacob
• Stand like Elijah
• Persevere like Daniel
• Venture like Peter
• Testify like Paul

There is a price to pay when we are a soldier of Christ. The suffering we endure is the consequence of the Lord’s permission for a season. We are earning our rank in glory by going through this basic training of this earth experience. Pain provides gain through suffering. The closest my knees ever get to the ground is during tribulation. It’s backwards because it is when I am in God’s will the demons come out in fullest force. So I need to pray more when things are going good and not wait until they are going bad.

God’s grace is in direct proportion to our suffering. The gates of hel cannot prevail against us, He will never give us more than we can bear, He will always provide us with a way out, He will never leave us nor forsake us, no ne can take us out of His hand and where He is we will be. You can take those promises to the bank. When we walk by Satan trembles in fear!

Growing pains are just that, a pain. Our Christian service is enhanced for those of us who have been in combat with the demons and have the scars to prove it. Surrendering to His will unleashed the power of the Holy Spirit. All we need is faith and a willingness to depend on our Lord providing. With His power and our perseverance we can understand His perspective or world view and remain courageously faithful to it.