HIS Power?

I was talking with a beloved friend earlier this evening about accepting God's power as our source of strength. In all honesty, friends, I will confess that while I am "pretty good" at looking to God's Word for my standard of living, and looking to His will for my strategy in each day, I tend to look to Him for strength when, and only when, I am out of other options.

*sigh*

I'm not saying this to sound brash or bold, and I don't say it lightly. I am terribly self-reliant, and God has been convicting my heart with this fact and working on this with me in recent weeks. In regular practice, I turn to Him only as a last resort. And yet, not only is this not the way my life is supposed to be lived, it's not the way it has to be lived! And let me tell you, if you haven't tried living on your own steam, I can assure you that you shouldn't! It makes life really, really hard!

Habakkuk 3:19a says, "The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights..." (NIV).

I might suggest that you just let that sink in a little bit. This, I think, is my favorite part: "he enables me to go on the heights." Ah... let your imagination capture that one. That's what life in the Spirit is about; living beyond what I can do on my own. The subtle trick, however, is that I don't only have to rely on Him when I am all tapped out. I can begin there. I can start with His power and let it carry me through, and not only through, but also far beyond where I could go when I start out on my own steam.

Don't we all want to go to the heights? Whatever that may mean for you, don't you thirst for it? Whether it be the Freedom of fully victorious life in Christ, or the ability to forgive supernaturally or love supernaturally, or even to just laugh with the joy that comes from not having to try so darn hard... don't you just want it? Friends, I am starting to believe with some certainty that one of the keys to that life, the life He intended for us to live, is in letting Him be our source for strength...and our only source, not just a back up.

I wish I had something more profound and "wise" to say about this; but as much as any thing I've written, this is a lesson I need to absorb and let dwell richly in my own heart.

Lord, show us what You want us to see; point us where You want us to go. I praise You and thank You for giving us what we need. Help us learn to not only accept, but to throw wide the floodgates and accept You as the foundational power for our life... Lord, life my heart up to the heights...I wanna live in the heights, Lord. I believe You, God, for my strength. Help me let go and receive Your precious gifts of love. I love You, Lord! I love You so!