You Will Receive Power

13 Feb You Will Receive Power

By the time I came to Christ, I knew very little about the Bible; I couldn’t even tell who came first – Abraham or David!

So, being what you might call the scholarly type, I decided to go back to school and acquire the necessary papers.

Naturally, I took my plan to the Lord; New pursuit, new degree, yes?

“No,” came the reply.

“No?”

“No.”

His response was emphatic, and though I couldn’t understand why He wouldn’t allow me to go back to school, I decided to shelve my plans and obey Him anyway.

Then one day as I was studying Scripture, I came across the story of Jacob, and how the man had struggled with the Lord, refusing to leave until he received a blessing.

And being a baby Christian, full of faith, I promptly laid out a plan to receive my own blessing.

So early one morning, lying prostrate on the floor, I took the scripture to the Lord in prayer.

“Father, if you did this for Jacob, you can do it for me now. Please Lord, I’m not leaving until you bless me.”

And by way of a vision, the Lord visited me, right there, as I lay expectantly on the floor.

I couldn’t see Him clearly, Brethren, but I could see the form of Him, standing directly in front of me.

And I could see myself too, holding tightly onto His feet, the way a child might hold onto to the feet of her father.

He seemed deeply amused, like a father might find joy at the earnest request of a clueless child.

Then, as I watched, the Lord lifted a beautiful scroll, unfurled it in front of me and said;

“I know you. You won’t rest until you have this. Here is your degree.”

Then, He lifted His hand again and I saw Him draw a circle in the air. He didn’t complete it though, but stopped just short of drawing it in full.

Then, He took what appeared to be a jug of some gold-coloured liquid and poured it slowly over my head.

When He had finished doing these things, Brethren, I felt such a deep joy, I wanted to jump up and down, sing, dance and worship Him, with all that was in me.

It was one of the most wonderful moments of my life – joyful beyond measure!

I didn’t fully understand all this at the time though, and to date cannot explain what the circle meant. I suspect I will get it in the fullness of time.

But that morning, I came away knowing that something infinitely special had happened to me.

And over time, in my journey with the Lord, I have come to understand that the ability to witness does not come from additional “papers”, but from the infinite power of the Holy Spirit Himself..

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“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8