LIMITLESS LIGHT
Kendra Intihar and Kimberly Lawrence
Today's Scripture: “Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.’” Zechariah 4:6, ESV
Theme: As a follower of Jesus, you have access to a power that is greater than anything in the universe: the power of the Holy Spirit.
ONLY ONE FIGHT
I am not a big Star Wars fan. Don’t judge. In some ways, that was an advantage as I prepared to write a devotion, because it afforded me great concentration on the spiritual parallels in the storyline and characters. Yet in one scene, Han Solo and friends visit Maz Kanata to settle their differences. In all her wisdom, Maz reminds them that the ONLY fight is against the dark side; that she’s seen evil take many forms; and that they ALL must fight together to win against this force of evil.
This scene was powerful to me for a few reasons. First, Maz boils it down to simply one fight…against evil. That’s it. After all the noise and clutter, that’s what it all comes down to. Second, she acknowledges that evil abounds and takes many forms. She’s seen it over her long lifespan. Today, we are assaulted with ideas and information that, while they may be popular, are far from godly. We must be discerning about what we allow in our minds, hearts, and lives. She concludes by saying the only way to win this fight is together… “all of us.”
There is more power in the collective than in the individual. There is a great force of evil at work even today, challenging and blurring what God’s Word says. Yet, there is power in a banding together of believers. Together, courageously, with the powerful Holy Spirit within us, is the only way to overcome darkness.
WHO FILLS YOUR LAMPS?
In ancient times, someone would’ve been tasked with the ongoing job of refilling the oil to keep the lamp stand at the temple illuminated. Oil would dissipate as it was used up, then someone would routinely be charged with refilling the lamps. In Zechariah 4, though, the prophet Zechariah has a vision of the lamps being supplied with oil directly from two olive trees, continually fueling the light. It’s a better way – it’s a vision of what can happen when we rely on the unlimited source of God’s power, the Holy Spirit.
SWITCH EXTENDERS
When my (Kendra) middle child was a toddler, he found all sorts of creative ways to turn on the light switch in his room. He’d stack things up and stand on them to reach it, he’d find a long object and slide it up until he hit the switch just right, or he’d drag a chair over and stand on it. These methods worked, but with his toddler stature, it was a lot of effort to get that light switch on. I began to worry about him falling off chairs or stacks of things, so I installed a switch extender for him. After the switch extender was installed, he could go right over to the light switch and push the extender up to turn it on or down to turn it off. It took almost no effort for me to install the extender, but it saved him a couple of years' worth of chair climbing (and probably a not insignificant number of preventable bruises). After seeing how effective the switch extender was, he never went back to “the old way” of doing it.
CONTINUOUSLY REFILLED
In the same way that the olive trees continuously filled the lamps in Zechariah’s vision, Paul tells us in Ephesians that we are to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). In fact, I’ve seen this admonition phrased as “be being filled with the Spirit.” We are not to be filled, and depleted, and filled, and depleted, but rather to stay filled with the Spirit through ongoing dependence on God and relationship with Him.
TOGETHER – FILLED WITH HIS POWER
Today, our force, God’s army, must come together to celebrate the light and overcome darkness. He is THE force, the Almighty, the All-powerful. He has no limits and needs no refills. He IS Creator, the beginning and the end. And, that power is within each of us through the Holy Spirit. We are the body of Christ, called to do His work through His power, so let’s get started.
Make it Personal: When life is difficult, we don’t overcome by our own strength but through the Spirit of the Lord. Our talents, our ingenuity, our strength – even the very breath that enters and exits our lungs are gifts from the Lord. We cannot be who God has called us to be in our own strength.
How do we stand for God in a world that, at times, seems so destructive and dark? It’s certainly scary and requires great courage. God shows us how in one of my favorite verses, Joshua 1:9b, ESV: “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” God will not leave you nor forsake you. He will equip and prepare you for the battles He asks you to fight. And we already know the end of this story: the Light wins!
Pray: Lord, thank You for designing me to be in relationship with You. Help me to lay down my independence so that I can feel the freedom of relying on You for the provision of my every need. God, give me strength and courage even when I am fragile. Give me strength to remove myself from relationships, places, situations, and habits that are not of You. I want to be part of the community that stands for You. Please help me feel Your presence when I’m scared, lonely, and tired so I can be brave. Help me to not be discouraged by my weakness but to be encouraged by Your strength. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Read: John 15:5; James 1:17; John 8:12; Ephesians 6:12
Weekly Memory Verse: “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’” 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)