I spent the last four years of my life as a member of the “Empowered” Class as AsburyCollege. All four years I had no idea what it could possibly mean to be “empowered”. I knew it was a good Christian word to use and it sounded great when spoken in a sentence. Other than that, I had no idea what being “empowered” had to do with me.
For the last month I have been in China. The ministry I got to work with was incredible. Our contacts were amazing. More importantly, for the first time in my life, I felt like I could actually “hear” from God.
Since I joined the World Race the question I get the most is “How do you hear God” or “How does He speak to you”. My answer has always been that I don’t hear and God doesn’t speak to me. I was quite bitter whenever anyone asked me that question because I was sick of feeling like a failure as a Christian.
During our month in China I started to understand that God has been speaking to me my entire life. No, I don’t hear an audible voice. It’s just a feeling or thought, but somehow it is God. Just writing that makes me question myself. It’s such a hard thing to just have faith. To just believe in God and what He is doing in and through you.
In China I got to be more bold in what I spoke. It’s so hard to know if things are your own thought and feelings or if they are from God. I’ve started to take on the mind-set “What can it hurt”. I’ve been told so many times that hearing from God takes practice. What can it hurt if I practice speaking words that could be from God?
I still have so much to learn. I want to hear from God more. I want to have faith it is God speaking to me.
I am so excited about the next few months in Africa, because I want to walk in the words that God gives me. I want to be bold about speaking what I believe is from Him. I just want to know and feel that I am empowered.
I’m learning that feeling empowered is just feeling like God is with you. When I feel like God is speaking to me or when I can feel that He just loves me, I feel His power. In Him I have the power of the Holy Spirit. In Him I am empowered.
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Eph 3:16-21 (NIV)
