How Effective is Your Power Plant?

Energy is a "hot" topic these days - gas prices, electricity costs, controversy over building nuclear power plants, whether to drill or not. Discussions abound in any gathering. Yet how frequently do we stop to consider the effectiveness of the most important power plant of all ~ our spiritual power plant? After all, we need its power to fuel our every move, our every thought, our every decision. Yet when was the last time you or I evaluated its condition and what may be hindering its effective and efficient operation? With all that is happening in our world and in our own personal lives, perhaps there has never been a better time than today.

Recently, 2 Timothy 1:6-7 have been brought into my peripheral vision from multiple sources and with neon lights every time. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Trust me, the Lord has gotten my attention. Simultaneously events have triggered a self examination of what drives my reactions to people and to people's statements. Knowing that Abba is purposeful about everything in my life, I sought to understand the intersection of this recurring scripture with my search for truth amidst the turmoil that I was experiencing. (And yes, folks, we all go through periods of turmoil and storms no matter what it looks like on the outside. :-))

These verses have been repeated to us so many times in so many circumstances that for some they have lost their power. Hmmm, there is that word again - POWER. In my search for the truth, I came across an awesome explanation of the last phrase of verse 7 - of power and of love and of a sound mind. Reverend Henry Wright in his book, A More Excellent Way, explains that power is the Holy Spirit because He is the power within us that enables us to do what we are called to do, live the way we are instructed to live, etc. Love is God the Father in that it was His incredible agape love for us that gave us His Son as our Savior enabling our salvation and reconciliation with God. Finally, sound mind represents Jesus Christ as the Word which must be instilled in our minds daily to enable us to carry out all that we must in completing our charge with the Great Commission and living lives of righteousness. So what did God give us? God gave us the Triune Godhead as our power plant to insure that we could move forward everyday.

What did he NOT give us? He did not give us the spirit of fear and timidity. How many of you have skimmed over that part of the verse and not considered that Paul was identifying a real spirit here? I admit - guilty! I read fear and skipped the spirit part. If God did not give me that spirit of fear and timidity then who did? OK, that was an easy question that you don't have to be smarter than a fifth grader to answer. Did God intend for us to have that spirit? No! But do many of us have it anyway? Yes. Doors were opened because of many things that happened to us in our past that caused us to question who we are, maybe years before we came to know Christ as our Savior. Despite our efforts to walk in freedom and the full power of our God, we lacked the knowledge that there was a root cell in our power plant that was still rendering us ineffective at times.

Much needed maintenance on our power plants seems in order, doesn't it? Glance back at Verse 6: Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Action is required first and foremost. We are instructed to stir up - keep fresh - that which has been imparted to us. Don't get caught up on the laying on of hands phrase. God Himself has instilled in you His gift. There are two kinds of gifts we are referring to here. Specifically for Timothy he was being called to continually stay fresh in his anointing as a minister of the Gospel, but to all of us as followers of Christ, we have received the Gift of God. We must never underestimate the preciousness or the power of that gift. It was further defined in the closure of verse 7 - the Triune power of the Godhead. Keep that gift stirred up.

Think back to your days as a camper, what would have happened to your campfire if you had not continually kept that fire stirred and added fresh wood to the flames? Think about how you can fuel your Power Plant spiritually. By studying the Word daily, by fellowshipping with like minded believers, by intimate quiet time with the Lord, etc. Similarly you can also inadvertently fuel that negative root cell if you fail to tear it out of your power plant. Negative thoughts, negative words out of your mouth, wrong relationships that do not edify God, an absence of God-centered activities in your life, etc. These will fuel that spirit of fear and timidity who is a strongman and will bring a few of his buddies along for company. Before long, your power plant will be operating at 50% efficiency. Then you will begin wondering, what is happening to my life.... Choose life. Choose full power. Choose to do some maintenance on your power plant today and enjoy a new power surge in your life!