The Power Within

Jesus said to his disciples, "Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high." Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. Luke 24:49-53

The disciples couldn't wait to see what would happen next. What would it mean to be 'clothed with the power from on high'? They would soon find out. That rush of the Holy Spirit that we call today Pentecost was just about to spring on them an experience beyond their imagination. A power that would come upon them, dwell within them, bursting with the need to be let out, be made manifest in the world. Wow! How humbled we should all be knowing that God has chosen us to be places for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! That is pretty scary stuff. We do a good job as believers of ignoring the very thing that Jesus promised, the capacity to do more than we could hope or imagine because we would have the power of the Holy Spirit within us. We underestimate that power. We dismiss that power. We often ignore the urgings of that power. We often succumb to our doubt and fear about what others might think of us. What a lost opportunity.

I don't know about you but I certainly experience every day how easy it is to forget that the Holy Spirit dwells within me. It takes a conscious effort to not only remember this but live my life in such a way that the Holy Spirit can shine through me so that others may see a glimmer of God. Glorious opportunity! Scary reality! How the Spirit must grieve when I act out of bitterness, resentment, anger, fear and countless other expressions of unbelief. The good news is that I am more aware of those moments than in my youth. Maybe that is an advantage of long life and spiritual disciplines that have shaped my heightened awareness of the presence of God within me. But I work at it every single day. It is becoming more natural, part of my daily rhythm. Of course I will never stop failing and will try to keep improving.

Missionary leaders have a responsibility to reflect Christ's love, no matter the difficulty of the circumstance. We have the power within to be a shining light. It is in this brightness that others come to know Christ. Isn't that what being a missionary is all about?