God Gives Us a Spirit of Power

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

When we’re visiting the boys, our days are always busy! On Friday, we planted a garden, and on Saturday we had 2 soccer games! We loved watching the boys play and we cheered on their teams and encouraged them to do well. They both have come so far from being those shy little guys who use to just kinda run along behind, watch the action, and try to kick the ball if it came right to them. As they grow and change, I love to see how they are also growing in confidence of who they are and what they can do! I pray they will always know that same assurance!

Miles, especially, has become quite the little soccer player, and we couldn’t help but cheer him on loudly! After the game, one of the parents came up to me and said, “I love to watch Miles play! He plays with such heart!” I kept  thinking about her comment and what she meant, and it made me even more proud of him. For one thing, he gives it his all – his heart and his soul. He plays hard. He hustles after the ball and is all over the place! And it’s not even about winning or about how many goals he can make. He had 2 today, and when the parents, coaches, and other kids came up to him to congratulate him, he just shrugged it off. It really isn’t a big deal to him! He plays to have fun and to be a valuable part of the team, but he also wants the other players to feel important too. He unselfishly gives up the ball, kicks great passes to a teammate so he/she can score, and I even heard him tell several players, “Great play!” He’s  a competitive, little guy and only 7, but yet, he plays with such confidence, self-control, and enthusiasm.

After the game, I asked him if Granddad and I embarrassed him by yelling for him so much and he smiled sheepishly, and said, “No, but I heard you guys”. He paused and then said, “And it helped. Thanks, Nan!” That’s our Miles! Like every grandparent I know, we are pretty proud of him and Cole!

We all need encouragement and love to help us through this journey of life – from each other, but especially from the Spirit of God living within us. For who cares more about us and cheers us on more enthusiastically than He does. The circumstances in our lives can be intimidating, even frightening at times, and all of us can feel inadequate to handle whatever might come our way. But God does not want us to live in fear or to live with a timid heart, being unsure of who we are and what we can accomplish. He desires that we feel value and worth because of who He made us to be and He wants us to feel the power of His love through His Spirit. Fear or lack of confidence renders us powerless and saps our strength. It makes us think emotionally and not logically. It causes us to doubt ourselves and our own abilities, but through His Spirit in us, we can feel the power of His love and will have the self-discipline to do things we never thought possible. We can believe His Spirit is mighty and strong for we have His promise: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

His Spirit within us can empower us to be able to move beyond our fears and feelings of inadequacies. God wants to embolden us with His strength to be firm in our faith and to look to Him for whatever we might need. He can help us to move from our insecurities and fears to confidence and grace. We need not be timid, or shy, or fearful because we can trust and have confidence in the One who loves us and will be with us always.

 Prayer

Dear God, thank you for the power of your Spirit that lives in us and helps us do things we couldn’t possibly do on our own. Thank you for your love and grace to handle any and all situations we may face. May we trust in you always. Amen