Applying The Power

A few weeks ago I took my daughters to their favorite spot, Chuck E. Cheeses. They were so excited that even as we drove to the restaurant, they yelled “Chuck E. Cheese! Chuck E. Cheese!” As soon as we walked in the doors my girls did a beeline to the play area and started having a blast.

But things took a surprising turn. All of a sudden my 3 year old, Ryann, started screaming and crying and threw herself so hard on me that I almost fell down. I quickly asked her what was wrong. Her answer shocked me.

Ryann says, with her voice trembling, “I just saw Chuck E. Cheese! I’m really scared!”

I was stunned. I could not believe that Chuck E. Cheese was the source of her fear. Chuck E. Cheese? The same Chuck E. Cheese whose name she’d been yelling in the car? The same Chuck E. Cheese that she plays with every time we visit? Chuck E. Cheese was causing her to act like this?

I have to be honest. It wasn’t my best parenting moment. I literally stared at her and I kept repeating, “Ryann, why are you acting like this? You’ve been here before.” It was as if someone had hit “repeat” in my brain because I kept asking this frightened child the same question: “Ryann, why are you acting like this? You’ve been here before.”

But then I got it. God was doing it to me again. He was using my child to speak directly to me.

See, earlier that day I’d had my own “Ryann” moment. I was facing a situation that I’d dealt with many times before…a situation through which God has proven to be faithful. But each time something similar creeps up again, it’s as though I’ve never dealt with it before. I find myself worked up, stressed out and overwhelmed. I throw myself a really elaborate pity party, and even have the nerve to invite God to attend.

And so in that very moment as I spoke to Ryann, the Holy Spirit was speaking to me. I could hear the Lord saying “Robin. That’s the same question I have for you. Why are you acting like this? You’ve been here before.”

I believe this is the same question God had for the children of Israel. God had performed so many miracles in their lives, and yet each time they found themselves in a tough situation, they would begin to complain and grumble.

In Numbers 14:11, "The Lord said to Moses, 'How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?'”

In other words, “Children of Israel, how many times have I shown you my power? Why are you acting like this? You’ve been here before.”

On Easter Sunday little children at churches around the country will recite Easter poems about the power of the Resurrection. We will all celebrate our belief that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose on the third day “with all power in His hands.”

But I wonder how many of us apply the power of the cross to our everyday lives? How many of us allow what we confess to become real in the midst of our circumstances?

How many of us find ourselves facing familiar situations, and like the children of Israel, like me, and even like my sweet little Ryann, we act as if we’ve never faced that situation before?

As we prepare to celebrate the cornerstone of our Faith, let us remember that because of the miraculous power of the cross we are no longer victims to the circumstances we face! We can apply the resurrection power to every situation in our lives because we are united with Christ (Ephesians 2:6) and we already have the victory!

By
Robin S. May