Strengthened by GraceSample

A Spirit of Power, Love, and Self-Control

The flesh is a formidable opponent and wars against the Spirit: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh” (Gal. 5:17 ESV). Paul tells Timothy to fan into flame the gift of God, and Jesus exhorts His disciples, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” (Lk. 12:35 ESV).

One summer, my husband and I visited Colonial Williamsburg with our family. In the stifling heat of the noonday midsummer sun, we entered the blacksmith’s shop. The fire in the furnace was burning hot, but not hot enough. Before the blacksmith could insert the iron into the furnace, he needed to increase the heat by enlivening the flame with a bellows. The bellows, a device made from wood and leather, acts like a giant lung. As the bellows is pumped, it pushes air into the fire of the furnace, raising the temperature enough to melt iron and fortify it with the addition of carbon. Just as the blacksmith kindles and rekindles the fire with the bellows, we are called to do the same.

God has preserved Paul’s letter to Timothy as a priceless treasure of wisdom for us. In it, Paul reminds us that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tm. 3:16-17 ESV). By grace through faith, we fan into flame the gift of God by fervently fixing our eyes on Christ, ardently studying the Word of God, and obediently following the Lord’s will and not our own.

We must continually confess our sins and walk forward in repentance, while unceasingly praying to the Lord, boldly proclaiming the gospel, and faithfully exercising the gifts we have been given. In our own strength, we can never be ambassadors of Christ, advocates of God’s Word, or bearers of the gospel. However, Christ now lives in us, and He has given us a spirit of power, and love, and self-control—not of fear. God knows our weakness and our frame. He knows that we are but dust. Even the greatest saints were made of the same flesh.

The measure of our usefulness and effectiveness for the gospel is not found in our strength, ability, or intellect, but in the power of Christ. Let us remember He is all we need.