When we hear about someone having “power,” our minds can slip into thinking about superheroes and fictional fantasy stories with their superhuman strength — someone who can leap tall buildings, lift cars, or defeat the latest threat to the world. Our culture is saturated with stories, comics, and new movies about men and women who can defy all odds with their power.
In the presence of that backdrop, we come to Jesus’ words right before he ascended into heaven when he said:
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49, NIV)
I think it’s easy for one to assume they will obtain a supernatural power that gives them everything they need to make life easier. I mean, let’s be honest — if I had a superhero power, I’m sure I’d use it to take a little pressure off my life and make things easier, wouldn’t you? Can you imagine being able to withstand bullets, heal instantly, or know someone’s thoughts before they speak? (Well, I might not want to have that power.) If I had supernatural power, one thing I wouldn’t expect to do is suffer pain. My power would help me avoid suffering and pain. Don’t worry, I’d help others avoid pain as well by rescuing them!
At its core, this is the difference between a fictitious fantasy superpower and the power God gives through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to us to boldly take forth the good news of Jesus into the world, so that all would come to salvation, not just avoid a trial. In Acts 1:8, Jesus makes it clear:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Even the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are given to the believer are “given for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7b). They are given for the sake of others. None of them are provided to make one’s life easy or free from pain and suffering. If anything, God’s power that comes upon the believer’s life should enable them to give more of themselves — and even suffer more — for the gospel.
Before you click off this page and stop reading because of the topic of suffering, can we look at a couple of examples first?
Let’s think about Jesus.
Jesus was the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). He walked in the Spirit of God and possessed a power and authority that was evident to everyone around him, including his enemies. People sought him out for his power to heal and his ability to liberate others. The woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5 said to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed” (Mark 5:28). Jesus had crazy power! Yet how is it that he allowed himself to suffer to the point that he did? Why is it that many times, after Jesus performed a great miracle or there was a revelation about his anointing, he reminded his disciples that he was on his way to the cross (Matt. 16:21)?
Jesus had so much power — power to heal, power to preach, power to cast out demons, power to raise the dead. But he never used his power to free himself from suffering. Even on the cross, they shouted to him in mockery, “Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God” (Matt. 27:40), but he ignored them and finished the work his Father sent him to accomplish.
Let’s think about Paul.
Paul is considered by many to be the greatest apostle and follower of Jesus in the New Testament. He led three incredible missionary journeys that brought salvation to thousands, he discipled hundreds of believers, set up the multiplying church, and was used by God to pray and fill many people with the Holy Spirit.
Paul walked in the power of God (Gal. 5:16). Paul preached in the power of God (1 Thess. 1:5). Paul was led by the power of God (Acts 16:6). Yet that power was never used to spare him from suffering. If anything, the opposite. Paul writes:
“I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil. 3:10–11)
This seems like a contradiction at first. How did he long for God’s power while fully expecting to share in the sufferings of Christ? I think many people, at first glance, would expect that to know God’s power means to avoid or escape suffering. But it’s the opposite. Knowing God’s power and Christ’s power means embracing the life of carrying Jesus’ cross — not a physical cross, but an acceptance of pain and suffering. However, in the moment of pain — and what can seem like death in the natural — is where we experience his grace and resurrection power to the fullest (2 Cor. 12:9).
A Different Kind of Reward
The power/suffering conundrum happens because we automatically look at everything through the lens of our life here on earth. Our default thinking is to expect God to rescue us from the pains and trials on earth because that should be our reward — no earthly pain. But God’s reward for those who follow Him is Himself. He is our reward (Gen. 15:1). And that reward is multiplied by infinity as we look forward to spending eternity with God face to face (Rev. 21:3).
This is why one of the true purposes of God’s power is to strengthen us to endure these earthly trials until the time we meet him face to face. Paul encourages the Corinthians as he writes to them:
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18)
Let’s ask God to fill us with power and boldness again today, so that we can continue in his mission for us on this earth. He promised to give us power, and as followers of Jesus, we can walk in the same power and do the same things Jesus did (John 14:12). However, it’s not an earthly power that avoids suffering, but a power that allows us to love as he loved, heal as he healed, pray as he prayed, and give as he gave!
Pastor Devin Blankenbiller
