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MORNING MEDITATION
Glean the Word:
Mark 9:14-29
Glimpse of Glory: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6)
During His earthly ministry Jesus displayed His power over time, distance, nature, blindness, sickness, demons and death. The common denominator in all of His miracles was the power of God. "For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37). Jesus gave His twelve disciples authority and power to carry out His powerful work while He was with them (Matthew 10:1). "The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (v. 8). However when Jesus had departed with three of His disciples to the Mount of Transfiguration those that were left behind suffered a crisis of faith. "O unbelieving generation...how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?" (Mark 9:19). The disciples had taken for granted the power they had been given by God. They grew negligent in exercising and disciplining the spiritual resources the Lord had given them, and when crisis came they found themselves ill-equipped and unprepared to handle it. Their lack of faith brought criticism from the crowd, and, to add insult to injury, their example caused the desperate father to question the power of God. "If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes" (v. 23).
Believer, God has given us everything we need to live a life of victory and success. We have been given the power of Christ's blood, the authority of Jesus' name, the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit, His Holy Word to instruct us, and unlimited access to His throne of grace through prayer (and our faithful Mediator who is always interceding for us there!). The power of faith doesn't come from us, we must depend on God. We lose necessary spiritual power when we neglect to cultivate our faith with prayer and fasting. What Jesus did simply by speaking a word, we can never expect to do if we neglect to feed on His Word. The power of faith is the gospel itself. Ours is a spiritual life, and we must feed that life within us with the only food that matters - the Word of God. It is essential that we give our utmost attention to cultivating spiritual power, love, and discipline in our lives, because we have been entrusted with ministering to a world in need - and what they need can only come from God, not from us. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).
Fasting empties us and puts us in a position to be filled with the power, presence, peace and provision of God, if we will discipline the flesh and give our attention to the Word of God and prayer moment by moment every day. The Lord provides these seasons of fasting so we will be equipped, empowered and prepared for the hour of trial and testing that is sure to come our way. May we have eyes to see the bountiful feast the Lord has spread before us, ears to hear His call to join Him at His table, and a responsive heart willing to receive the riches of His kingdom and the fullness of Himself He desires to share with us, so we will be thoroughly equipped to continue His kingdom work in this world. Let us pray that all of God's children would unlock the secret of all spiritual life and power found in a life of deepening intimacy with the Lord by fellowshipping with Him in His Word and in prayer each and every day.
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