SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1171

“Feeling Powerless”

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.” – 1 Samuel 17:45-47

Saul and his army felt powerless before Goliath and were paralyzed with fear.

When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. – 1 Samuel 17:11

What has you feeling powerless today? The global pandemic and governmental responses to it have worked to restrict and remove personal freedoms of choice leaving many feeling powerless. Some have lost their businesses; others have lost their jobs. Personal freedoms are restricted and heavily regulated. Government mandates and enforcements work to further exacerbate our feeling of powerlessness.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

A recent article in Psychology Today describes this feeling of powerlessness as moral distress and the way to overcome it is to develop moral resilience. While the world view seeks to establish moral resilience through a stoic philosophy – seeking help from within yourself, our Christian world view finds help through Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us the power for living especially in these difficult and trying times.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. – Psalm 28:7

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. – Psalm 57:1

Psychological science has taught us that a basic need for the human mind is that it desires to feel in control. Lock downs, social distancing, quarantines, vaccine, and mask mandates all work together to take ‘control’ away from us and we feel powerless to make personal choices and exercise our free will. Know this: None of our world circumstances comes as a surprise to God. He’s got this under His control, and He will work it for our good. Our control is to yield to His control.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

With the abiding presence of Jesus in our hearts we are never powerless. We must keep our eyes focused on Him and He will see us through these trying times to His praise, glory and for His good purpose.

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. – Isaiah 40:29

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. – Ephesians 6:10