The Power You've Been Given

Well, hi there. You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1521. Today's Devo is called the power you've been given. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast. Hi, I'm Mary Alessi, and it's an honor to be with you at the My Morning Devotional podcast. I know that you normally hear from the girls, and I happen to be the mother of most of those girls and the mother in law to Rochelle. Actually, all of them. I'm. I'm actually. Let's just say I'm the mother to all of them. Okay. And I love what God is doing through them, and hopefully it's blessing your life and changing you. Because when we dive into God's word, we do find everything we need. And today we are starting this journey through Acts, and I'm going to actually cover Acts 1 8, and we're going to talk about that scripture verse. It says un Acts 1:8, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses. Witnesses to what? That power. So let's talk about that verse for just a minute because all of us need power, want power, can't do it on our own strength. We need the power of God. And here's my thought about all of this and this scripture verse. Jesus didn't wait for his followers to go out and change the world on their own strength. That wasn't his expectation. Go out in your power and your strength and change the world. Your gift, your talent. Get. Get out there and change the world. Jesus didn't have that expectation for his disciples, and he didn't have that expectation for you. And he doesn't have it for me. He told them to wait for power. He said, power will come upon you when you wait. You will receive the Holy Spirit. He will come on you, and you will be my witnesses and receive power and be a witness to that power. I don't know about you, but. But I don't want to live a single day in my own strength. It's way too hard to do that. Life can get hairy. Life can get difficult. One single day can bring a lot of chaos. Caused me to stay up at night, wake up in the middle of the night with a weight of worry. And you know, we can't do life on our own. We can't do it without people, and we certainly can't do it without the help of the Holy Spirit. There are days I don't know if you do, but I'll wake up and the minute my eyes open, I already feel like I'm behind. I'm nowhere near halfway through my to do list. I'm feeling overwhelmed. I'm not really sure how to get through this day or how to address this conflict or this situation that I'm dealing with. But here's what I know and what I take from this verse today. That God did not intend for me to wake up and do that day by myself. God did not intend for me to face conflict and difficulty on my own. What a relief that is to know that if I ask God, I can receive power from the Holy Spirit and it will endo me, which is a church word. It will fill me with power from the Holy Spirit. So I don't have to do things in my own strength. I don't have to do them in my own ability. I'm going to come up short anyway. The Holy Spirit empowers you and I not just to do ministry, not just to do what we're called to do or what our gifts maybe enable us to do. But the Holy Spirit comes upon us, empowers us for everyday life. How to deal with those kids, how to handle a situation with your spouse, how to have a hard conversation. The Holy Spirit will empower you to do all of those things. How to make a hard decision, how to operate in the leadership that you have stepped up in your life to fulfill, maybe even in a relationship. Listen, I've learned this at my age. The more I ask God for help, the more he's available to give me help. And he will answer my question and give me the strength that I need in real time as I go. But when I ask him for strength, when I ask him to empower me, to help me in that one particular moment, I never fall short. God always comes through. So you and I don't have to strive to be impactful. We don't have to strive to be influential. What we simply have to do is stay connected to the Holy Spirit, the One who has all power, who gives us all powerful. So here's a good application for you and I Before you start your day, pause, stop everything even before you brush your teeth and ask the Holy Spirit, I need your power today. I will not Because I cannot do this on my own strength. So I invite you Spirit. Spirit of God, come in, say this. Holy Spirit, lead me, guide me and empower me today. I can tell you this. He loves those words. He loves that invitation and he's available to you in every single situation that you are facing so that you can walk into your day with awareness and not pressure. Awareness that the Holy Spirit is there to guide you. He'll whisper words in your ears and prompt you in ways cause you to be urgent about something that otherwise you might be indecisive over and all that is the leading and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. I know a lot of Christians, they love the Lord, but they don't operate with the help of the Holy Spirit enough. Hopefully that's not you. Hopefully after today's devotional from Acts 1:8 that you will begin to activate the Spirit of God in your life and in your every single day life and in your everyday decisions. Let him have access to your heart. Let him have access to your mind. He's there for you. He's just a request away. Can we pray together? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that we do not ever, not for one day have to do life on our own. So I'm asking you if you would fill me with your power today. All of us need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Help me to be aware of your presence in every single moment. Lead my words, my thoughts, my actions and my decisions so that my life would bring you honor and glory. Make yourself real to me, Holy Spirit. And I know Father, that you are just a request away. In your name I pray. Amen and Amen. God bless you. Have a great day. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in Today we pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend. Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.