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Living an Empowered Life
Our time here on earth is short. With the time we have, I believe it’s important to live an empowered life.
I believe that is God’s desire for us.
These were Jesus’ last words to his disciples:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. (Acts 1:8)
It was a promise of empowerment.
After St. Paul met Christ, his life changed. He lived an empowered life.
For him too, the source of this power was clear: the Spirit of God.
There was a clear contrast between an empowered life and a disempowered life.
This is how he describes it:
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5-6)
To set your mind on the things of the flesh is a disempowered life. To set it on the Spirit is life and peace – an empowered life.
Things of the Flesh
We need to know what the difference is between flesh and Spirit.
St. Paul did not mean literal flesh. He meant things that relate to our earthly existence. Things we need to live, like: Money. Health. Job. Reputation.
We need them to live, but they are temporary and perishable. When we die, all of that goes away.
Setting our minds on these things is not an empowered life. But that’s easier said than done.
We know that these earthly things are temporary. But they affect us on such a deep level because these are the things that make up so much of our daily lives.
When you don’t have these things, or your situation is shaky, it makes you feel vulnerable and insecure.
Your experience of lacking these earthly things can rock your sense of safety and fill your heart with fear.
Money struggles may come and go. Health challenges may come and go. But the fear they produce remains.
The things of the flesh may be temporary, but their effects on our hearts can be permanent.
They make your heart fearful. That fear saps power from your life.
The Solution to Fear
We think the solution to overcoming that fear is to improve or get rid of the circumstances that produced the fear. So we set our minds on these things of the flesh.
But that is setting your mind on the wrong things.
To set your mind on the things of flesh does not lead to life and peace.
Yes, your circumstances might be better. But your heart remains the same. It remains a prisoner of fear.
Focusing only on creating good circumstances is not the path to an empowered life.
But so much of our time and energy is focused on that. Because that is what we see.
We are not only flesh. We are not only physical creatures who eat and reproduce.
We are also spirit. We are spiritual beings who have a consciousness and desire for meaning.
Just like your body, your spirit must be tended to and nourished. If you neglect it, it will be malnourished and shrivel up. It won’t come alive.
When your circumstances are good, then you have the pleasure of those circumstances. Pleasure is good. But pleasure is like dessert.
I love dessert. After a great meal, it is a delightful way to end it. But that’s just what good circumstances and pleasure are – dessert. If you have it, that’s great!
But without the main course, dessert is just empty calories. Too much dessert, and you feel sick. You need the main course.
The main course is food that feeds your spirit. Food that makes your heart come alive.
We’ve been too focused on making and eating dessert. We haven’t fed our hearts with the main course.
This is the reason people don’t feel passion for life. Why people feel no meaning or purpose in life.
They are not driven by the real desires of their heart. They are driven instead by fear.
Their hearts remain locked away in fear. It remains buried.
The Spirit Sets Us Free
So many people don’t know what their heart truly desires. That is a sad reality of our modern life.
For St. Paul, it was clear what the main course is: the Spirit of God.
The Spirit is not something we can touch or see. The Spirit is present in your heart.
When the Spirit is connected with your heart, the Spirit revives it.
The heart heals. The heart gains new insight. The heart grows.
Most importantly: the Spirit gives you power to break free from the fear that imprisons your heart.
The empowerment of the Spirit is the power to set your spirit free from fear.
This is the freedom that St. Paul experienced:
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the heart is set free (2 Corinthians 3:17)
A heart set free to soar. To dance. To desire.
I don’t own a dog, but I’ve seen dogs unleashed at the park. They are free. They become who they really are – dogs.
An empowered life is having a spirit that is set free from fear.
It is not about your circumstances. Whatever your circumstances, a strong spirit will give you empowerment.
That is the kind of empowered life that St. Paul lived:
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)
That is an empowered life.
Let the Spirit make your spirit strong, and you will live an empowered life.
This is the most important thing in life.
A strong spirit will get you through any and all circumstances.
It doesn’t mean that fear doesn’t exist. But it no longer has a hold on you.
Say Yes!
You want to know what an empowered life looks like?
It is a life of saying Yes!
Yes to life. Yes to my present circumstances, even difficult ones. Yes to helping others. Yes to sacrificing your comfort. Yes to what is asked of me.
No, or maybe, is the response of a disempowered life. No is the answer of fear.
When your spirit is set free from fear, it is free to say yes!
Do you want to be free?
Then practice saying yes. Let that be your spiritual practice and discipline.
Say yes, especially when you feel afraid, uncomfortable, or inconvenienced. That is the time to say yes.
Saying yes will make your heart come alive.
It will stir up fear in your heart. But it will increase your faith and trust in God.
It will open up doors and paths you never imagined. It will heal you.
You will discover what your heart desires. It will create a new shape for your life.
You will live out your calling when you live a life of saying yes.
Saying yes is a blessed life. Blessings for you and blessings for others.
Saying yes is the sign of an empowered life.
When you are afraid, uncomfortable or inconvenienced, say yes.
When you are at the fork in the road, pray for courage. Pray for a bigger heart. Pray for faith.
God will set your spirit free and give you the power to say yes.
All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
God brought you into this world to live an empowered life. God loves you so much that he sent Jesus to rescue your heart and set you free.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)
Jesus has set us free!
Let your heart be set free.
Let it soar. Let it dance. Let it persevere through your challenges with faith. Let it be strong.
Let it say yes!
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