Tag Archives: power of God

1 Peter 5:5-6
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

I am so thankful to God that I was raised in a Christian home.  Because of that, I was able to accept the Gospel message at an early age.  (See my previous “Testimony” post)  That being said, there is a truth that all those in my condition need to learn.  Just because I grew up going to church doesn’t mean that I had no use for the life transforming power of God in me.

I need Christ to work on me the same as everybody else – maybe even more so, because my problems were below the surface.  Let me explain…

From my earliest memories, I was attending Sunday School at my church.  I was also at church whenever the doors were open.  That’s how my parents operated.  Speaking of my parents, they were the type that always made sure that I had learned my “memory verse” for the week – BEFORE Sunday.  There was only one other person in my class who had to do that.  The rest just waited for him or me to go first, and then they repeated what we said.

I loved learning the Bible and soaked it in like a sponge.  Ultimately, I became very knowledgeable in the Word of God.  And that’s where it started to go downhill.  When a question was asked by the teacher, I always knew the answer and raised my hand.  Sometimes the teacher would call on me and I would receive the satisfaction of being correct.

Of course, teachers didn’t want the same person answering all the questions.  So I was the one who jumped around with my hand up going, “Ou – ou – ou.  Call on me.  I know it.”  When I saw that didn’t work, I resorted to yelling out the answer without the teacher calling on me.  Needless to say, the teacher’s reaction didn’t boost my ego as I had intended.

Then it struck me.  I came up with a new strategy.  I never raised my hand again.  I let all the other students answer the questions UNTIL there was a question that no one could answer.  Only then would I raise my hand and invariably give the right answer.  I became the class expert.  The one they went to at the last resort.

Without me ever knowing, the sin of pride had taken root in me.  The same sin that caused Satan to fall had now taken over my life.  That’s where it started, but I have had to battle it ever since.  Thank God for the power of the Holy Spirit that gives me victory over it today.  It’s the sin that will always pop up when I least expect it.  I need the Savior’s power as a constant part of my life.  I cannot be who I am without Him.

Just because I grew up in church doesn’t make me invulnerable to sin.  I need the power of the Holy Spirit just like anyone else.  I can truly say that without His hand on me, I would never have made it to where I am today.  Thank You, Jesus, for your life-changing power!