The Inner Flow of Infinite Power
By Hal Lindsey
Christians should always remember the Source of our strength and power. But right now seems like an especially good time to put power into perspective. Ultimately, we do not depend on a rugged physique, government programs, or human systems of power. We depend on the Lord God Almighty — the omnipotent One.
Our situation can be illustrated by an episode of the classic TV comedy, “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Van Dyke played a television writer named Rob Petrie. He had just repaired, or tried to repair, a toaster. He put in bread to test his work. Watching the toaster with self-satisfaction, he tried to give his wife Laura the big picture of what was happening.
“Just think,” he said, “at this very moment, the mighty Niagara, harnessed to giant generators, its energy racing along 400 miles of copper wire, just to heat our toaster. All we have to do is wait.”
Laura asked, “Don’t we have to plug it in?”
A bit crestfallen, Rob walked over and plugged it in. He said, “You’d think with that 400-mile running start it could jump the last two feet by itself.”
The power he described was there — two feet from the toaster — waiting to be tapped. And that can be us. Power flows within reach, but we sometimes fail to connect. Ephesians 6:10 tells every follower of Christ, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”
It is impossible for the human mind to fully comprehend the power we’re talking about when we say, “the strength of His might.” Remember, He is omnipotent, meaning “all-powerful.” In Numbers 11:23, God asked Moses, “Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not.”
Because His power has no limit, His every word must come true. It was with His words that He created all the cosmos. Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.”
Someone might point to Hebrews 6:18 — “It is impossible for God to lie” — and say there are some limits on His power. But the fact that God is always Himself, and never acts outside of His character or purpose does not represent a limit on His power. It is an expression of it!
His power flowing in us also works in accordance with His character. He does not grant us supernatural power to fulfill “the lust of the flesh,” “the lust of the eyes,” or the “pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Rather, he empowers us to do His will. And that’s the amazing thing. When we do His will, He makes His power available to us. We just need to plug in.
The next two verses, Ephesians 6:11-12, say, “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
The verses that follow tell about the armor God provides for us. I won’t go into those specifics here, but I invite you to read about them in Ephesians 6:13-18.
We stand in the midst of a spiritual battle. And to triumph as He wants us to triumph, we need more than a positive attitude or a stiff upper lip. We must, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”
The Greek word here translated power is “kratei.” It literally means “power that overcomes resistance.”
You will face resistance. We all do. But God grants us the power to overcome resistance. With gladness, He invites you to plug in to that unending, unlimited resource. Colossians 1:11 tells us we can be “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.”
Stay close to Him in these difficult days. Trust Him. And in all this, “walk in His glorious might.”
