Oceans in the Desert

By Kathi Pelton

During this past week my vacuum stopped working so my daughter-in-law let me borrow her powerful cordless vacuum until I can buy a new one. As I was using it I was amazed at the power that it had and how light it was to hold. About half way through my vacuuming it stopped working and needed to be recharged. So I went and plugged it into it’s charging station to get powered up again.

When I did this the Spirit spoke to me and said, “I am the charging station for my people to go forth in power (anointing). They can function in their gift alone and impress men, but to truly bring change and release my glory they need to have the power and anointing that comes from me alone.”

The vacuum I used is powerful and effective to bring change and transformation to my home but it actually has to remain at its charging dock far longer than it is able to operate in power. What an amazing illustration of our lives as believers. We must daily go before the Lord and engage with his Spirit until we are filled up with his heart, his will, his truth and his power. Only then should we be operating in our gift— otherwise there will be no power to bring true transformation and change.

I believe that this is what we see when we look upon lives like Heidi Baker’s. She spends more time with Holy Spirit than doing public ministry. Then she goes forth in the power of his Spirit— continually taking time to reconnect and receive from him. She is more connected with the Spirit than the world which makes transformation come when she touches the world.

God is calling his church to make sure that they are spending time with him— time to recharge, receive power and to be fully functioning by his Spirit. Otherwise we may look impressive and move in an impressive manner out of our gifts but we will lack the power that transforms our lives and all that our lives touch.

2 Timothy 3 talks about how in the last days men will have a “form of godliness but deny its power.”

The NLT words it this way,

“They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” 2 Timothy‬ ‭3:5‬ ‭NLT

We must be careful to not live merely in a form of godliness but not be spending time with God. Or using the gifts of the Spirit apart from the power of the Spirit. This was what happened in Revelation 3 to the Church in Sardis. They developed a reputation of godliness but they did not access the Spirit given to them by God that made them “sons of God.” They claimed to be alive but God called them “dead.” Then he called them to “Wake Up!” Or they would lose what they had received from him.

Let’s not be at risk of becoming religious rather than spiritual— we do not want only a form of godliness but we want to be completely yielded to him— to belong fully to him. In the days ahead we will need the constant connection with God that empowers us to persevere, endure and be transformed. We must be fully connected to the source of all power, authority, and wisdom in all that we do.

As his love becomes the power that flows through us, his burden will be light upon us as well. Using the gifts of the Spirit and functioning in them out of human strength will only serve to burn people out and allow for all sorts of evil to enter in (see 2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Let’s be sure that we are powering up every morning and throughout the day— not with just nice Christian music playing, a Christian podcast teaching or by reading a social media post like this one— but by taking time to connect deeply to God and allowing his Spirit to be our source of power.

“Come away with me…”

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