Power

I almost had a melt-down Sunday morning.  I was getting ready for church, got out my electric toothbrush, and … nothing happened.  The built-in rechargeable battery was dead.  I have another toothbrush, but lately, I have been using it to brush out my mustache.  So using that particular toothbrush (mustache brush) was out of the question.  So, I had to brush my teeth manually moving the bulky electric toothbrush back and forth; up and down.  I was reminded of the not-so-bright man who got a job cutting firewood.  He came into the shop at the end of his first day with his chainsaw in hand.  The boss said, “How’d you do on your first day?”  The man said, “I cut down two trees.”  The boss said, “What?  You’ve got to do better than that!”  At the end of the second day, the recruit proudly said, “Well, I got four trees cut down today.”  The boss replied, “What?  I’m going out with you tomorrow to see what the problem is.”  So, in the morning, the boss went with the not-so-bright man to the forest.  They selected a tree, the boss picked up the chain saw, and started it up.  The recruit jumped back saying, “What’s that noise?!”  Funny story, but we think that we can face the challenges of life without the power of the Holy Spirit!  We approach life’s problems in our own strength attempting to do spiritual battle without the necessary spiritual armor.  Hey, without the Lord, Satan will chew you up and spit you out!  You are no match against the forces of evil!  Paul sized up the problem in Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  And Paul gives the solution in verse 13, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  You can’t fight against Satan any more than I can brush my teeth with a dead electric toothbrush.  And if you try to fight against the powers of evil in your own strength, you will be like the not-so-bright man cutting a tree down without any power in his chainsaw.  Hey, don’t be not-so-bright.  Put on the armor of God.  And then stand.