Helpless vs. Empowered

As my family prepared to get our first-ever dog, we investigated how much it would cost to put in a fence in the backyard. To our surprise, the cheapest option was an in-ground electrical fence. After installation, our 10-week-old puppy quickly learned that if she tried to leave our yard, the collar around her neck would shock her.

Since that day the invisible fence was in full operation, we have accidentally let Kayah outside without her shock collar only a handful of times. Thankfully, other than a couple of exceptions, she has always stayed within the bounds of our yard, even though she wasn’t wearing the deterrent. She has learned where she can and cannot go in our yard.

Spiritual & Emotional Shock Collars

"There was absolutely nothing I could do."

Those words make sense if you are talking about trying to save your house from an EF-5 tornado. But too often, Christians use them as an excuse to not do something God has clearly called them to do. They act as though they have on a spiritual shock collar that keeps them from moving forward into the future God has for them.

We find ourselves today in part 4 of our What's Your Mindset? series where we are going to consider the contrast between feeling spiritually helpless and having a mindset that knows you are empowered by God's Holy Spirit (if you are a follower of Jesus). My hope is that you will realize you don't have on a "shock collar" that keeps you trapped at your current level of spiritual maturity, but rather you are empowered to go and be a blessing.

Peter's Watery Collar

In Matthew 14, there is a story about Jesus walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee toward His disciples. The Twelve were in a boat battling against a storm. With the skies dark from night and the air blurred by rain, the disciples couldn't make out who or what was on the water coming toward them. Jesus spoke out to reassure them, so Peter blurted out, "If that is really you, Jesus, tell me to come."

However, after taking a few steps out of the boat, Peter suddenly realized the ridiculousness and impossibility of what he was doing, so he began to sink. Never mind that Jesus, who was at that moment doing the impossible, said, "Come." Peter suddenly acts as if he's wearing a spiritual shock collar and shouldn't be crossing this line.

While Peter should be honored for having the guts to step out of the boat, too often, we act like the doubting Peter out on the water. God has called us to things like prayer, worship, sharing about Jesus, discipling others, and more, yet we keep seeing the storms of life, then act like they hold us back, as if we are operating with a learned helplessness.

Yet over and over in Scripture, God calls His people to have a mindset of empowerment, like when...

• He called Joshua to be "strong and courageous." (Joshua 1:6-9)
• Mordecai told Esther she was made queen of Persia for "such a time as this." (Esther 4:13-14)
• Jesus calls His followers to "trust in God, trust also in Me." (John 14:1)
• and especially when Jesus commanded His disciples to go and make disciples all around the world because the power and presence of the Holy Spirit would be in them and with them. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8)

This is why God had the Apostle Paul remind the Jesus-followers in Rome that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives within all who follow Jesus (Romans 8:11). So if you follow Jesus, you are far from helpless! You have been empowered by God's Spirit. So you can share your faith, or pray with someone, or comprehend Scripture, or raise your hand in worship, or give your time to serve a neighbor, or do whatever He calls you to do.