I have been watching a lot of TedX videos on YouTube lately. There is a great one by Dolph Lundgren where he talks about forgiving his parents for being brutal and unloving. There is another by Carrie Otis where she talks about how despite many setbacks, she started to believe in herself.

All of these videos have one common thread, people coming to terms with their own personal power; power to forgive, power to find their own worth. 

Personal power is a tricky thing. There are a million psychological defense mechanisms clouding it up. If you believe your father got cancer because of he walked under a ladder or you missed the bus because you entertained a sexy fantasy about Katy Perry, you are wrong in both circumstances. It would be nice if we were correct more often but for psychologists, us using these crazy ways of thinking is job security.

It is so much easier to blame God. ‘God, why do you allow XYZ to happen?’ ‘Where was God in Florida when those children were shot?” ”Didn’t God have the power to stop those bullets?’ ‘Where is God when I stubbed my toe?’

I have often asked that question myself when things just honestly suck in my life. I believe that more often than not, the Lord answers those questions with another question. A question that is very scary.

When I am tempted to ask the Lord, ‘Lord, why did you did you allow THAT (whatever that maybe) to happen”. I am afraid that the Lord would reverse it and ask ME, “With all the power I have given YOU, with all the resources with living in the greatest nation in the world, with MY (God’s) power available to you, WHY DO YOU allow it to happen?” That freaks me out!

The question becomes what do I do with the power I have been given?

Now, it becomes an issue of personal power regarding what I can control and cannot. I could not stop the airplanes from hitting the twin towers. I cannot stop someone from getting cancer. I can teach children about good health. I can give blood. I can ask the Lord to touch the hearts of people in the Middle East and that there would be healing and love.

It also becomes a question of what power am I willing to take from the Lord. Am I willing to walk into the spare parts room and get what is needed in the world and send it out?

Is there a “body parts room” in Heaven? (youtube.com)

When the Lord told the disciples to feed the 5,000 THAT was a question of personal power versus God’s power. The Lord told the disciples, “YOU give them something to eat!” He blessed the food and handed it out and God multiplied it. Take your personal power, ask God to bless it, and watch it multiply.

Job 26:7-14: “God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds don’t burst with the weight. He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds. He created the horizon when he separated the waters: he set the boundary between day and night. The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at his rebuke. By his power the sea grew calm. By his skill he crushed the great sea monster. His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent. These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?” 

——————————————————————————————-W.