Failsafe Power!

By Hazel Holland

Do you remember the power crisis in California on that hot Saturday afternoon, August 10, 1996, when thousands of people in nine western states, including parts of Canada and Mexico lost power for many hours?  I do.

Two days after that power crisis the local newspapers tried to assure us that next time there was a power shortage the power system managers would determine who should receive power, and who should be cut off so that another complete blackout could be avoided in the Western power grid.  

“There are islands of power within the darkness” was how one newspaper article described this power failure.  Another commentary stated: "It is impossible to build an entirely failsafe system.” 

Since electricity is something we are all very much dependent upon, it caused quite a stir to have our natural source of power cut off for such a long period of time.  In fact the newspapers warned us that outages will become more common in the future as increased competition changes the face of the power industry.

As is often the case, what happens in the physical realm often parallels what God is doing in the spiritual realm.  So what is God saying to His children through His Spirit in regard to His Power System?  How does He determine who should receive power and who should be cut off?  In the natural realm we are told that it is impossible to build an entirely failsafe system.  How about in the realm of the Spirit?  

God’s Power System

Over the years many of us in the body of Christ have tried to "help" God manage His Power System by trying to control the work of the Holy Spirit.  We have wanted to make changes in the way He ran His Power Grid because we felt uncomfortable with the way He chose to distribute His power.  So, at times, we decided to depend on our own source of spiritual power rather than His, and wondered why we found ourselves in darkness. 

But God assures us that those who live by the Spirit will have no shortage of Holy Spirit power. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

As we stay connected to Him, we are connected to His failsafe system.  Although man’s source of power has failed, and will continue to fail, God’s Power Grid will never become overloaded because of our excessive use of it during dry seasons of spiritual drought.  We will never be cut off.  For this reason we can rest in Him 24/7 knowing that His power will never fail us.

Since God is for us, "nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom.8:39).  As long as we stay plugged into Him, we have all the power of the Spirit that we need.  

Our God is at work making sure His "customers" receive all the power they need.  In fact, God has marked His customers with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing their inheritance until their redemption (Ephesians 1:13).

In view of the fact that we are called to be the light of the world—“islands of power” that will illuminate the darkness around us, let us let the Treasure that we each carry in our earthen vessels shine forth—Jesus Christ’s’ agape love.  

He is the Light that lights up every man.  He is the love that the world is waiting to see.  Yes, we are called to be His fingers of light pointing the way to the heart of the Father that is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

See:   Islands of Power