The Power of God

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. Luke 1:35

God does not stir up His power the way the world would expect.  Ours is the God who creates all things simply by speaking.  Ours is the God who did not need 22,000 to defeat the Midianites, but only used 300.  Ours is the God who sends out a mere boy to best the Philistine giant.  Ours is the God who appears to Elijah, not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, but the still small voice.  The omnipotent God of heaven and earth holds all things in His hands and under his control, but He demonstrates His love chiefly in showing mercy and love.

The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that the power of the Most High would come upon her so that the Child conceived within her would be the Son of God.  When we pray that God would stir up His power, it ultimately a plea for God’s mercy and love.  God demonstrated His power and His love in the birth of His Son, who would die for us sinners.

During His public ministry, when Jesus encountered a paralytic man, He told him that his sins were forgiven.  Such words stirred up the crowd, a man claiming to forgive sins.  So Jesus also demonstrated His power to forgive sins by healing the man, silencing His foes.

So once again in the last days of Advent, we pray that God would stir up His power for He is the God of mercy and love, the God who came down as infant King, a King who would meekly bow His head and die in the place of His beloved people.  “Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends,” He would say and do!  This is the Gospel!  This is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.

Prayer - Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Fraternally in Christ,
President Lee Hagan