Jen’s Gem: Get connected to your Power source!
This week, Tropical Storm Isiasis wreaked havoc on my town and the entire state of Connecticut. Downed trees and electrical wires have made many of my local streets look like a war zone. I was shocked to see entire trees uprooted as if they were saplings.
During the storm, I received a loud warning on my phone of an impending tornado. Tornado? Was I suddenly transported to Kansas? We don’t get tornadoes in Connecticut. Well, turns out we do. As I looked out my window, saw trees practically bent in half and within minutes, the lights went off.
In that moment, I regretted my procrastination to charge my phone, which teetered at 20 percent. “Surely the power will come back on in a bit. I’ll be fine,” I said to myself. However, that proved not to be the case. With sunlight fading, I resorted to sitting in my car with my daughter’s portable charger.
When the storm was over, I attempted to bring my son to work. Within seconds of leaving my condo complex, I was greeted by a huge tree that had fallen across the road. Turning around to go a different way resulted in the same. My son called out and we headed home.
Over the next eighteen or so hours the phrase heard most around my world was “Do you have power?” My social media feeds were filled with news of power outages and the lack of response by our state’s electric companies. Crews were brought in from out of state to help. As I write this post, many people are back on the grid, but not all.
Even though we were without electricity for only a short time, the pain was real for my son. Without TV and internet – his oxygen – he struggled to cope. A lack of air conditioning didn’t help as the absence of white noise along with the hot, humid air prevented sleep. His frustration was palpable and audible as I heard his continual complaints.
My repeated declarations of “We are healthy. We are safe.” fell on deaf ears. “I never realized how much we depend on electricity,” he said. “We take it for granted.”
“Take it for granted.” If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s taught us how much we take a lot of things for granted, hasn’t it?
When our power was restored, you could hear the whoops and shouts of people in the quad of my complex. Within minutes, air conditioners were turned on, candles were blown out, and light switches were flipped to their upright position.
I couldn’t have been happier. With the TV and internet back in business, my son’s lifelines were restored. All was well in our world once again. We had power.
Power is a word used a lot in the Bible. A quick Google search returns over one hundred specific verses and I’m sure there are even more. As believers, we have access to immense power because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
In John 15:16-18, Jesus tells his apostles that while He will be leaving them soon, He will send the Holy Spirit, a Helper, who will abide in and with them forever.
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
How do you and I get this help, this power that will reside within us forever? Simple. Love God, keep His Word, and believe just as Jesus told his apostles:
“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” (John 15:23-24 NKJV)
You see, God knows and has always known that in order for us to do this life thing, we need help. We can’t do it alone. We have to plug in to the ultimate Power Source every day to recharge our batteries – God’s Word. That’s why I read my Bible every morning. I need to plug in and connect to my Power source.
The best thing about God’s power? There’s never an outage. He’s on 24/7/365. There are no hidden fees. It’s free for the asking. (Tweet This!)
So, the next time you’re facing one of life’s many storms, if you believe and have faith in God, you will never lose your Power.