Ephesians 1:19
“and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.”
This is a very insightful verse. God’s power is enough and it’s with us constantly. As we go throughout our day, we encounter hundreds of unknowns. Some good, bad and indifferent. We love the good and don’t think about the indifferent. It’s the bad that affects us. We may have expected it, but ususally not. This is life. In this, we want to be happy and make a good witness for Christ. It may be an illness, an unhappy person, or a difficult circumstance. Whatever the case, we now have something that plagues our minds, challenges our joy and affects those around us. A few weeks ago, I ran across someone who was irritated with me. They treated me rudely. After two day of being on the receiving end, I spoke to them. Nothing changed. That is the normal route of repair. They would have none of it. Now I had to deal with the frustration of having someone influencial who is consistently in my week who feel’s it ok to be disresptful. Aggravating. I could appeal it, but that’s too messy with some possible consequences that could be worse. I had to just ignore it. This was tough. It bothered me for a solid week. I prayed and asked friends to pray. It still lingered. Today’s passage says that God’s power is sufficient. I would have hoped that this person would have been remorseful. Prayer not answered. I would have hoped that I could get past it. Prayer not answered. If His power is sufficient, then He must want this to continue. Could I learn something from this circumstance? As I spoke of this with a trusted friend, he addressed it from a different angle. What is it about your (my) behavior that is angering them to begin with? That’s a valid point. I am reflecting on that and hopefully have become more aware. Things are slowly thawing with this individual. God’s power wasn’t limited, but was demonstrated in His love to work on one of my weaknesses. We retain our joy when we stay in touch with Him, call on His power and are open to change. If I failed in these areas, this problem becomes an irritant which could make me bitter. Sometimes we pass the test, other times, we do poorly. Lord, thank You for Your power and involvement in our lives.