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Come on, admit it. There are superpowers you’d like to have. Maybe when you were a kid, you ran around the house wearing a makeshift cape. No worries. There is no judgment from me. I used to tell my brother and best friend that I was half-cat. It’s fun to envision what life would be like if we developed superpowers of our own. Would you have superhuman strength? Fly? How about reading minds?
Comic books, movies, and cartoons have depicted our fascination with superheroes and their superpowers. We know it’s all a fantasy, and yet we dream . . . The trouble is, sometimes we cripple ourselves as we grow older and more jaded— thinking we are not capable of anything superhuman. And we stop believing. Stop trying.
Recently while watching one of my favorite shows, Iron Chef on the Foodnetwork, I had a “God moment.” You know, when you’re doing something completely normal and suddenly God whispers something spiritual.
God moment: when God turns something typical into something spiritual.
As I watched these incredibly talented people prepare the most scrumptious dishes (man, I wish they’d invent taste-a-vision!), I longed to cook a meal even close to this caliber. But I realized there were some obvious reasons why this was not going to happen. First of all, each chef has studied at renowned culinary schools and have years of experience working in some of the world’s best restaurants. My mom, a home-cook, taught me. They also only use the finest of ingredients. I mean, I’ve never cooked with white truffles, caviar or saffron. I think my classiest appetizer is stuffed mushrooms. And another thing, they have at their disposal the latest and greatest kitchen gadgets and equipment. I’m fortunate that my kitchen has a double over (which comes in handy for holiday baking).
God of unlimited resources
So, as I pondered upon the advantages of these top chefs, that’s when God brought to mind His advantages. He is the God of unlimited resources. “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.” Ephesians 3:16 NLT
Think about this for a moment. Unlimited resources mean there is no end to what He has available to use and no end to what He can accomplish. And yet, in our own limited human understanding, we often find ourselves putting God in a box and limiting Him. But the Bible tells us that we serve a God who is unlimited in power, resources, capacity, knowledge, being, compassion, grace and holiness.
I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded of the awesomeness of our God. I get caught up in the things of this life and forget. Here are a few Scriptures to help keep us from putting God in a box and remember how great He truly is.
Job 36:22-24. “God’s power is unlimited. He needs no teachers to guide or correct him. Others have praised God for what he has done, so join with them.”
Psalm 147:5. “Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.”
1 Corinthians 2:9. “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’—”
Isaiah 55:9. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Ephesians 1:18-19. “I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. He displayed this power in the working of His mighty strength.”
The Superpowers of the Holy Spirit
The power of the Holy Spirit is the power of God. The Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, has appeared throughout Scripture as a Being through and by whom great works of power are made manifest starting with creation (Genesis 1:1-2). Jesus promised the Spirit as a permanent guide, teacher, seal of salvation, and comforter for believers (John 14:16-18). Galatians 5:23 tells us about the fruit of the Holy Spirit which are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Pretty amazing, right?
What could you do with unlimited resources and the ability to use them?
If you have surrendered your life to God’s Son, Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit living in you. This means believers have at their disposal some remarkable things. Not just superhuman-superpower things, but supernatural! Things we would not even dream of having or doing. “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.” Ephesians 3:20
If we have all of this power available to us, then why aren’t more Christians living like it?
Simply stated, we are at war. Take a look at Ephesians 2: 1-3 below:
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”
According to these verses, we are at war with three things: Satan (ruler of the kingdom of the air), our flesh (sinful cravings), the world. Once we realize we are at war, we must arm ourselves. No one goes into a battlefield without weapons and protection. God gives us everything we need, but we must USE it (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Three ways to Tap Into the Holy Spirit’s Power
Spend daily time in the Word and prayer.
In the same way, a dead cell phone will not make phone calls, a dead spiritual life is powerless. We must plug in the phone in order to charge it. After it is charged, we can utilize its many functions. And we must remember to charge our phones regularly or we lose power again.
Evaluate your life and heart regularly.
Sin muddies up our lives. Things like lying, unresolved anger, lust, prejudice, etc. In fact, sin quenches the Holy Spirit’s power and voice from our lives (1 Thess 5:19). If we are honest, most of us don’t go long without doing something we need to confess before the Lord. Unconfessed sin builds a wall between us and the Holy Spirit.
Practice what you are taught by the guidance of the Spirit.
God expects us to grow in our faith by putting into practice what we learn. When God teaches you a lesson about his love and grace, He expects you to look for ways to show love and grace to others. When God comforts you during a difficult time, He expects you to comfort others (Colossians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Not even Hollywood can create a superhero as incredible as our God!
Those who follow Jesus have access to the greatest superpower available. Superman, Spiderman, Ironman, Batman and all of the rest do not hold a candle to what God can do through a person committed to living a surrendered life to Christ.
How is God guiding you to use your Holy Spirit superpower today?
“The world has yet to see what God will do through one man fully surrendered to Him. By the grace of God, I will be that man.” ~D.L. Moody
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