The Battle for Power

There are so many voices that ring in our ears when it comes to advice. I remember when Rhesa and I got engaged – and the onslaught of do-gooders that came knocking at our door, selling their ideas of how a marriage should work and what it should look like. Once again, when we had our first child, many of those same voices came calling again, each with their own understanding on how we should raise our child. In the end, our marriage and parenting styles is probably an amalgam of what some wise, trusted people had to say on the subjects; but along that journey, we had to sort through the mishmash of the ill-advised to the flat-out ridiculous! What stuck my wife and I is that, when it came to matters of experience, there was a power struggle at work in those who would seek to lead us.

And what about our spiritual lives? Could there possibly be power struggles amongst us? In the physical world, power is transferred and willed from one person to another horizontally. Certainly some persons are elevated above others by position, wealth, education, etc. – but in the end, we are all human. No person is truly more powerful than another. We all have the ability to hurt, to laugh, to grieve, to die. Fortunately, the spiritual hierarchy of power is different. For in this world, God is the power source for all humankind, and that power flows directly from him and for his purposes. For a time, God exalts one man, for another time, he humbles a nation – all the while, seeking an end through the means: his glorification.

Undoubtedly, we see wars for power among us – even in our churches. One person claims spiritual authority for his or her ministry, while another group manipulates fear in the hearts of would-be leaders, until the whole thing looks more like the pit of the Senate than the house of God. How do we stop the power struggles from within? We tap into the power source from above. How do we discern the true voice of God from among the noise? We fix our eyes on the moving lips of the author and perfector of our faith.

In our worship this Sunday, we will continue to elevate God as the supreme power source in the universe. As his power is fully understood, we have, but to stand in awe of that reality. Finally, we will ask that God to speak through the noise of horizontal power struggles for the purpose of hearing his will for our lives.

Resounding Themes:
Supreme Power of God
Awe of God
In-breaking of God
Hearing God
Discerning God’s Will