I have been confused about the Holy Spirit and what it can do and the more I learn about its mysterious ways the harder it is for me understand. First, I thought of it as a superpower that if I had enough faith and tried hard enough then I could throw a mountain into the sea, cure a sick person, bring someone back from the dead and frankly be more powerful than superman. Once I even tried getting a squirrel to stop running away from me and come for a chat, yeah that didn’t work! But how do I get enough faith to actually believe I should and can do these things? It’s not like when Neo in The Matrix just had to believe he was “the one” and then he could fly around and start beating up on Agent Smith, it is something different. But I couldn’t quite figure it out.
Luke 9:1-2 & 9:6 says:
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all Demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick…
So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.”
Why we’re Jesus’ disciples able to perform such miracles and why can’t I?
How did they banish unclean spirits, raise people from the dead, heal the sick, and save so many people?
I understood it was through their faith and “the power” Jesus gave them.
When Jesus was walking on water Peter had the courage and faith to step out onto the water and walk towards Jesus… Matthew 15:28-31 says:
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
…being the only other person that walked on water in the Bible. How cool would that have been? What a thing for your resume, “Walked on water with Jesus”. He would for sure get that job as his churches youth pastor now, right? But then something happened… Peter started looking around and realizing what was happening he started to fall into the water. He lost focus, he lost faith, and he questioned what was happening. He let his human weakness take away the miracle that he was witnessing.
Holy Spirit + No Faith = Nothing
No Holy Spirit + Faith = Nothing
Holy Spirit + Faith + Obedience = The ability to perform God’s will (whatever it may be)
What if the disciples were able to perform these miracles because the Holy Spirit prodded, encouraged, and convicted them to? The Holy Spirit made clear to them God’s desire and allowed them to be His hands and feet and make His desires happen on earth. Their faith allowed them to be active, present, aware of the Holy Spirit’s plan, and in some cases actually obey where the Holy Spirit was leading them. When all of this came together at one time they were able to perform a miracle.
I don’t think they were able to perform miracles of their own human desires. For example, they couldn’t turn a tree on the road to Damascus into a money tree! They could only perform the miracles that God put on their heart to perform through the Holy Spirit and being present and aware of what was going on enabled them to understand and make it happen.
The Holy Spirit gives us the power to execute God’s will, not our own.
The Holy Spirit allows us to be the hands and the feet for God.
Do I have the faith to step out of the boat as Peter did and allow the Holy Spirit to work in me? Will I listen and act on what it guides me to do?