Use the Power

by Pastor Larry Sorrells, Rockville, Trinity UMC

In John 14:19-20, Jesus tells us: “… you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you,” and in Acts 1:8, Jesus tells us: “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

There is a story told of an elderly woman named Norena, who lived in southern Florida. When a hurricane hit that area, her home was one of many that was severely damaged. Norena received an insurance settlement, and the repair work began. However, when the money ran out, so did the contractor, leaving an unfinished home with no electricity. Norena lived in her dark, unfinished home – without power – for fifteen years.

The hurricane was Andrew, which struck in 1992. She had no heat in her home on those occasions when it might get chilly over southern Florida. But worse, she had no air conditioning when the temperature climbed into the 90’s and the humidity clung to 100 percent, as it often did there. She did not have one hot shower. Without money to finish the repairs, Norena just got by with a small oil lamp and a single burner propane cook stove.

Sadly, her neighbors did not seem to notice the absence of power in her home. One day, acting on a tip, the mayor of the Miami-Dade area got involved. It took just a few hours of work by an electrical contractor named Kent Crook, to return power to Norena’s house. CBS News reported that Norena planned to let the water get really hot, and then take her first “bubble bath” in a decade and a half. “It’s hard to describe having the electricity to switch on,” Norena told reporters, “It’s overwhelming.”

There are times I wonder; how many Christians have been living their entire lives without ever knowing what it is like to have the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit operating within them? Perhaps some of us have had the power turned off for so long, that we aren’t aware of it and would not even recognize it if it came back to us! Always be open to the power of God’s promises. Blessings.