Your Need for God's Power
Let's look at something Paul wrote in another of his letters:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. — Ephesians 2:1
Wow. The reality is, we don't just feel stuck, we are stuck. Worse than stuck, we are dead.
Have you noticed dead people don't have a lot of power? Ask a dead person to help you carry a heavy box or arm wrestle. Not gonna happen. Dead people don't have a lot of power. And we are dead. Powerless.
That's discouraging. But Paul provided some hope-inducing truth.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead. — Ephesians 1:19–20 NLT
- The same power God used to raise Jesus from the dead is available to you!
If you feel dead in some area of your life, you don't need to stay dead. Why? Because resurrection power is available to you. If you feel stuck, you don't need to stay stuck. Think about it. If God can get Jesus unstuck from death in a grave, He can certainly get you unstuck.
In the next chapter of Ephesians, Paul wrote,
But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!) — Ephesians 2:4–5 NLT).
There are several Bible passages, like this one, that describe how we've messed things up and gotten stuck. Reading them, you can start to feel depressed, but then this amazing word appears — "but."
But God
You've probably never been thankful for God's "but." But you should. Because when God puts His "but" into your situation, it changes everything.
What was is no longer what is because "but God."
What's behind you is not what's ahead of you because "but God."
Your past doesn't have to be your future because "but God."
We were dead, "but God" gave us life, new life, in Jesus. Why?
Because God is "rich in mercy" and "loved us so much."
Paul then described God's grace. Grace means to get the opposite of what you deserve. God loves us in spite of us, not because of us. He loves us not because of what we do but because of who He is.
When we're at our worst, God's love is at its best.
Paul wrote that because of God's grace, you have been "saved." Saved is a verb. You can write a verb in past, present, future, or perfect tense.
Past tense speaks of something that has already happened.
Present tense describes something happening right now.
Future tense refers to something that will happen eventually but hasn't yet.
Perfect tense speaks of something that has happened in the past, is still happening in the present, and will continue in the future. It draws attention to the continuing effects of something that has happened in the past.
Paul wrote "saved" in perfect tense! You were saved by God's grace in the past, but the effect is still happening. His grace is always going to impact your life. God will continue giving you new life in your dead places until his work is complete in you.
You never have to feel defeated.
You can never give up.
Because God didn't just save you. He saves you. He is constantly saving you.
You can't, but God can. And God will, if you turn to His power.
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