Day 53: An Outpouring of Strength

The book of Acts tells us that God has promised a great outpouring of His Spirit in the last days. Approximately two thousand years ago, the Holy Spirit was released upon the earth to reveal Jesus and make new the hearts of believers near and far. So we have the Holy Spirit active in and among His Body, the Church. But I would be very hesitant to call what we have now an outpouring.

So what might an outpouring look like?

We find a key in the meaning of the word spirit. Spirit is first defined as “strength.” Under this definition we also find the words courage, character, will, force, fortitude, moral fiber, wisdom, determination, chutzpah, heart, and mettle. Throughout the Bible we’ve seen the Holy Spirit displayed in many different ways. The Spirit empowered Samson with superhuman strength so that he brought down a temple on the Philistines. Elijah outran the king’s chariot. The courage of God came upon Gideon, and he rallied an army without weapons to defeat their oppressors. Through the power of the Spirit, Deborah—a lone woman in the desert —raised up a force for Israel’s enemy to reckon with. By the power of the Spirit, Jesus displayed the character of God everywhere He went and to everyone He met.

And then here we are. The Bible says that in our day hearts will falter and fail because of fear. How will this debilitating fear be overcome? Maybe the answer is an outpouring of a Spirit of courage.

Adapted from “Lioness Arising: Wake Up and Change Your World” (Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group, 2010).

What is the Holy Spirit saying to me?

ACTIVATION

• Cry out to God for an outpouring of His Holy Spirit in our world, in our day. Pray for hearts to be open and people to hunger after God.

• Let the Holy Spirit rain down on you in your quiet place of prayer. Do not hurry Him or spend time talking––let Him food in to heal you, quiet you, comfort you and empower you today.

• Take the assurance of His Presence with you and be courageous!

FURTHER STUDY

Judges 16:23–30; 1 Kings 18:46; Judges 7:16–25; Judges 4:1–7; Matthew 3:16

Pastor Larry & Pat Downing
Foothills Community Church
Collections of thoughts from varied sources
Scripture verses from KJV or NIV unless specified