2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
“When the advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father the Spirit of truth who goes out from the father he will testify about me” (John 15:26). “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18).
If you have surrendered your life to God through Jesus Christ who is the truth and life, you have the Holy Spirit of God inside of you (John 14:6-7). The scripture says that the Spirit of God gives us power, love, and self-discipline. If we have so much power, love and self-discipline why do we often allow timidity to drive our daily lives? Oxford dictionary defined timid as “showing a lack of courage or confidence; easily frightened.” Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, lived his earthly human life demonstrating what Power, love and self-discipline should look like in a Christian/Disciple’s life. Jesus was the most powerful spiritual being who came to earth and chose to surrender his power to love people who were not always loveable. His self-discipline was stellar when he could have lost it and given up on humankind. Instead, to the point of death, he prayed that God would forgive the people who crucified him (Luke 23:34). How are you doing using the gift of Power, Love and Self-discipline in your life? As for me, it’s a work in progress. I frequently struggle to accept the power that Jesus has bestowed upon me by allowing fear and doubts to quench the Spirit of God. Jesus used his power to preach the Gospel and touch people’s lives. Not just the lives of those who said yes to him but everyone who was in need and came to him. My constant prayer to God is to teach me how to love like Jesus loves, with no limits, no condition, and with incredible compassion even when they rejected him. As I study Jesus through his ministry, his self-discipline during trials, tribulation, and the storms that life brought him, it is my desire as I strive to walk in his footsteps. How are you doing living the life of power, love, and self-discipline? I have found my most effective days living these three powerful tools as a Christian are the times when I focus less on myself (The Flesh) and more on God allowing him to use the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me. Galatians 5:16-21, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Let us strive to live in our full destiny and not let the Devil steal our gifts by infusing timidity, also known as fear, lack of confidence and lack of courage to live for Jesus Christ just as he died and live for us!
