Are You Connected?

2 Timothy 3:5 "having a form of godliness but denying its power..."

A couple of weeks ago a powerful storm hit the city where I live. The winds were so strong that it knocked down telephone poles, trees, power lines, and anything else that was not able to withstand the force of winds that were at least 70 mph. I don't pay attention to the weather station so the veracity of this storm came as quite a shock to me. As a matter of fact, I was at the church when it happened. Our church is older, all brick and evidently quite sturdy because behind those walls the storm did not seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Even with the sound of the tornado siren I honestly did not think it was that severe.

Unfortunately, my neighborhood was one of the ones that took a big hit from the storm. Downed telephone and electrical wires were in our yard as well as one big tree. We were without power for three days which immediately began to reveal to me the necessity of electrical power to maintain a productive and enjoyable lifestyle. It did not take long at all for me to become uncomfortable and to feel detached from the rest of those who had power. Not to mention the fact that besides it being dark, I kept forgetting that the power was cut off. I would reach for the light switch, the computer, my phone, and all other things that ran by power. Even though it was a habit, I did not get the results that I normally got when the power was on.

After a few days our power was restored but the telephone line and the internet was still out. Our alarm system is connected to our phone line. One night when it was time to go to bed my husband set the alarm. When he pushed the button all the red lights came on like normal. The loud beeping sound went off to let us know that the house was now secure. But in reality it was not because the phone line that sends the signal to the police department was still not connected. So if someone had chosen to break in during the night, the alarm would have gone off in the house but it would not have alerted our true source of help due to a disconnected line.

Holy Spirit began to speak to me from a spiritual perspective. He said that many of the saints are just like that alarm system. They have a shout and a dance; a prayer and prophecy; a sermon and a song but they have no power!!!! They are not connected to the true source of power and in the event of a crisis they will have no help beyond their own ability to help themselves.

Let me tell you, storms in life do come. Many times they are unexpected and do great damage. But if you are connected to God, if the Holy Spirit abides on the inside of you, you will have power to weather any storm and stay connected. We are promised in His Word that He will never leave us or forsake us.

One of the things that bothered me most about the lack of power was being in the dark. During the day we would have the natural light from the sun and it was easy to see your way. But at night you had to feel your way around to get from one place to the other or you just had to stay in one place. The feeling of uncertainty or the feeling of being stuck in one place is a very uncomfortable feeling. And what made it worst was nobody on our street had power so the darkness was not just in our house but all around us.

Holy Spirit says that is how so many powerless church-going Christians live. They may be in the church house but they are still sitting in darkness because they are not connected to the Light. They are not connected to the true source of power, the Holy Spirit. So they are stuck in one place or they are just feeling their way around in the most uncomfortable way possible.

Now if this is you, let me encourage you to get back connected. Just like the analogy with our alarm system, only the owners of the house knew that it was not connected to the police system. You may be fooling others by making all the right sounds but the Owner of your house knows the truth. He knows that you are disconnected but He is ready to turn the on the power as soon as you are ready to receive it. God has not called you to walk in darkness. 1 Peter 2:9 New King James Version 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Why not make that decision today! Don't continue to stay in the dark when there is so much power available to you.

Blessings,

Pastor Karen