POWER

What makes people desire to have POWER over something or someone? Is it related to being "self directed" instead of "other directed"? Or is it insecurities coming out to try to salve a hurt, or a past unhappy experience?

We are a BIG container of all our experiences. We have "head tapes" that rerun constantly and we are not aware of it happening. Many times our reaction to situations comes from these "old" tapes, from "old" experiences. I think these are our habits. We use the same familiar words in our relationships, we react the same because it worked for us before (or we thought it did), and we think the same thoughts and yet we expect a different result. Our habits, hang ups and hurts rule our choices. We feel powerless over our circumstances and so look for ways to boost our "feelings" of being in power over something. We often misdirect that need of being in power over something into being in power over someone.

When we feel powerless in our lives, we need to stop and check the direction we are headed and where we have placed power. Often when we feel powerless, we have taken our eyes off God and have them on the world, others and our circumstances. We need to be on track with the Lord and be found faithful. Sometimes it takes hitting a "brick wall" to wake us up, to bring about changes, to alter our thinking.

As a believer in Jesus as my personal Savior, I have yielded my life to Him. It is no longer "my" decisions that count. As my Lord and Master, He directs me. My job is to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to follow what He tells me, and to make myself available for service. I am a child of the King and I don't need to have power over anything or anyone. My Lord provides all my needs and will for all of my life. I praise Him and thank Him for His abundant provision and His unconditional love and care of me. He alone is my all. It is a process all my life for Him to work in me and through me to bring about His purposes in my life. His plan is perfect for me and He alone understands who I am and how He created me. So I no longer need to worry or fear of being powerless. He is my strength and power.

Love should not seek power for self in anyway. Loving another means letting go of what I want and feel, and desire to let another have what they want, what they feel, and desire. It requires trust and believing that another person cares the same about me as I do about them. I have a stamp that says, "The love we give away is the only love we keep." So the bottom line for me is to give away power, to give away love, and in doing so, I gain peace.

As I work through some recent events regarding feeling powerless, I can have confidence that God will continue to work in me. His love is everlasting and I can rest in Him.