I find that the rate of upgrades and updates of new generations of technology and the absorption of same is in inverse proportion to one’s age. A friend’s new vehicle has a centrally located touch screen which controls everything from the heat and AC to the radio, the Bluetooth, his GPS and more modern wizardry than I could possibly name. It’s frustrating to him as so much of it is considered ‘intuitive’ (read: needing no explanation!). A recent discussion about cell phone functions likewise frustrated me when that same word was inserted into our conversation. I concede that, indeed, my smart phone is eons smarter than I. And personal assistants who add items to your grocery list (on all your connected devices) as dictated by your refrigerator?! The mind reels!
Adapting to the presence of the Holy Spirit now living in each of the disciples was very likely as much of a puzzle as anything described above. Maybe His resources were ‘downloaded’ into them at Pentecost as a Kingdom of God ‘App’ and stored in the ‘cloud,’ always at the ready for any and all situations these men could ever encounter. If that’s how it seemed, then great! But! How were these guys, and the rapidly growing number of new believers, to access this super-abundance? How were they to gain the ‘mind of the Spirit’? How were they to hear His voice? The Apostle Paul attempts to flesh out this incredible, overwhelming mystery, in Ephesians, chapter 3, TPT:
“…I pray that [God] would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power. Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.”
Is your head spinning, too?? My weak-kneed summary to that astonishing paragraph is that in pressing to the love God has poured out on us, focusing exclusively on that, the ‘how to’ gets done to us! We may not even recognize it, but guaranteed, others will! I think, also, that the more we stress out about the ‘doing’ and ‘getting it right,’ ‘hearing His voice,’ etc. the more that ‘technology’ will frustrate the daylights out of us! Eugene Peterson puts Isaiah 30:15 like this: “Your salvation requires you to … stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me …” (of course, this was followed up with an accusation against Israel: ‘the very thing you’ve been unwilling to do.’) So, friends, let’s be found willing to settle down in complete dependence on Jesus and stop our silly efforts to show ourselves strong because someone has written: “When I am weak, that’s when I am strong.” I’m there, and I’m feeling better already! PD
