Two applications to our work of what Jesus said about power come to mind. And when we are talking about power in our work, we are talking about being effective or successful in what we are trying to do.

The first application is popular because it promises what we all desire, to be extraordinarily effective. We have the power to do far more than we can ask or think. We are not limited by our own abilities or the circumstances that we face. If 5 loaves and 2 fishes can feed 5,000 people, then the sky is the limit of what we might accomplish in our work. And throughout Scripture, God is fond of accomplishing things well beyond human ability and effort in order to bring glory to His name. So powerfully effective work results can be a part of partnering with God in our work and we should not lose sight of that.

But it is a mistake to equate power or effective work with the presence of God, and we are prone to do this because we are so attracted to power. On this path, power can actually become a stumbling block in following and serving God. We see this in the church. Sadly, it is not uncommon for revival movements that certainly appear to be manifesting powerful signs and wonders to have leaders who are significantly flawed in areas of their life and character. Even when those around them are aware of these flaws, they wrongly assume that the power flowing through these leaders indicate that God is present so the flaws must not be a problem. Inevitably, the flaws do become problematic and there is an ugly and confusing end to the revival.

This also happens in churches where the power is not in signs and wonders but in church growth and effective ministry. Recently there have been several large churches who have gifted and talented leaders who also have character flaws that are tolerated because the church is growing and apparently being so effective. Again, there is the assumption that God is accomplishing His work through this leader, so everything must be okay. The end result is the same as with revivals. When all is said and done, has God been glorified in these churches? At best, it is a mixed bag.

Regarding our work, we should continue to desire success that glorifies God and His power at work within us. And we should celebrate that when it happens. But we should also be on guard against putting too much emphasis on effective or successful work as a sign of God’s favor. When we pursue success as a sign of God’s favor, we run the danger of drifting away from God. And we can wrongly interpret success as a sign that we are doing God’s work when we may be doing things to gain success that are ungodly.

The other side of this coin is that a lack of power or evident lack of success, while always frustrating, does not necessarily mean that we are failing to align with God. Paul learned this with his thorn in the flesh. The disciples all fell away during Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion because they interpreted his powerlessness as a sign that He no longer enjoyed God’s favor. He had warned them mulitple times of what would happen to Him, but they were so entrenched in their equating power with godliness, that they were unable to process what was happening. So when work is frustrating because of a lack of success, we should not allow that to discourage us.

I would love to connect with you about these posts if they have stirred any thoughts or questions. Take a minute, shoot me an email at bo@leavenedlives.org, and let’s see where that takes us.