The Power is Out
Today’s Verse:
And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. ~Mark 9:17-18
Have you experienced a power outage? If you have, you realize how much you take for granted the use of electricity and gas. When there is a power outage, you can’t flip a switch for the light to come on. When there is a power outage, you can’t turn the knob on the stove to cook food. When there is a power outage, you realize how helpless, vulnerable, and weak you are to the outside elements. This morning, we see a situation when a needy father came to Jesus for help because the disciples could not help him. He explained the plight of his son and said, “I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.” Let’s consider this morning the problem of a power outage in our life.
We see the FAILURE when there is a power outage. The father told Jesus, “Thy disciples could not.” They could not cast the demon out of this man’s son. They could not give hope and happiness to this family. They could not see answers to their praying. They could not stop a bad situation from getting worse. When we lack God’s power, we are failures! We fail in our soulwinning. We fail in our preaching and teaching. We fail in our personal work with others. We fail to bring forth much fruit. We fail to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit. We fail to be holy as He is holy. When the power is out, we are at the point of failure.
We see the FUTILITY when there is a power outage. The disciples all tried, but none of them could help this man. Imagine nine disciples praying, interacting, and doing what they thought worked, but everything they did was futile. It is sad, but all of our work is completely futile if we lack God’s power. We are wasting time and energy. We are wasting money and resources. We are praying vain repetitions, because the Lord will not hear us. We go days, weeks, months, and even years; and see no change in our outcome. We get used to less than best. We are status quo instead of excellent. We just plug along and accept mediocrity or less. We are “doing church” when we should be building the church. We are exercising futility when we should be exercising faith. Our efforts are all in vain.
We see the FIX when there is a power outage. A power outage does not need to stay that way! I am thankful that a power outage can be fixed! Jesus told the disciples in private that the problem was a lack of prayer and fasting. There are no quick fixes in the Lord’s work. We must get back to wrestling with earnestness in our praying. We must give ourselves to praying without ceasing. We must commit to pray until the answer comes. Then, we must accompany this kind of praying with fasting. Fasting is when we deny our fleshly appetite. Fasting is telling God we hunger more for His fellowship than we hunger for food. It is when we crucify the flesh and its appetite. It is when we remove ourselves from all distractions so that God has our undivided attention. It is when we lose ourselves in order to gain Him. It is showing the Lord our humility, and that we mean business.
A power outage leaves us in an embarrassing and vulnerable position. Thankfully, we do not have to stay that way! Determine today to end the power outage, and get God’s power God’s way!
Have a power-filled God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Deuteronomy 5-7