Diving Deeper 2 Timothy 1:7

 

Have you ever thought about where your power, or strength, comes from? For me, power was something I never felt I had. I was a timid child. A woman brought up under an evangelical mascot telling me I needed to be less. That to be assertive and have leadership potential meant I could teach kids, not the grown-ups. But that's not what I read in Scripture. I

I was recently given a task to memorize second Timothy chapter 1, verse 7. In this verse, Paul is encouraging Timothy to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit. Because Timothy is feeling inadequate. He is young, not Jewish and has been put in charge of a church. Even though Timothy learned from Paul himself how to pastor a church, Timothy is feeling afraid and unable. Here's what Timothy, and we, need to see. We have not been called to be timid. We have not been called to be afraid. We have not been called to ask permission from humans to do the work God has for us. 

We have been given a spirit of power and love and self-discipline. So how do we tap into that? 

To get power, we need to have an outlet. Power as electricity has been harnessed thru the use of electricity cables. We have access to electricity by the plugs attached to lamps or toasters or televisions. In the same way a lamp can access the cities electrical grid by being plugged in, so can we plug into the Holy Spirit. This is a constant source that never runs out. We don't even have to pay for the access we receive to this power! 

The next step is love. What does love have to do with power? It has everything to do with it. If I have power and no love, I easily become like a frightened animal charging.

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I can slam into things, break through walls and gouge out trees until I calm down. Leaving a wake of damage behind me. Power without love equals dictatorship. It is how we end up with military states, despots and slavery. Power untempered by love is a dark and lonely place. The place we learn to temper our love is at the foot of the cross. Learning from Jesus how to surrender every right to power that we have. Just like he did to make a way to heaven for us. 

Both power and love need the consistency of self-discipline to grow. I know that when I use the word self-discipline, we usually think of this: 

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Self-discipline can be applied to spiritual growth as well. We must train if we are to have any endurance for the marathon that is life. That takes daily practice of denying self, learning what the Bible says. praying for illumination from God. This kind of self-discipline isn't about calorie counting or toning reps, this type of self-discipline is more important than physical health. Self-discipline in spiritual matters brings us closer to the source of our power and love. With a life focused on abiding in Christ, we can develop and use the kind of spiritual power we need to overcome the things of this world.