Empowered By His Spirit

Brenda Gittens


"At that moment the Spirit of the LORD powerfully took control of him, and he ripped the lion's jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat." (Judges 14:6).

In the Old Testament, we see many examples of where the Spirit of God would often come upon people, so that they could perform or accomplish specific duties or tasks. All of these moments and experiences were special, but the Spirit of the Lord almost never remained upon someone indefinitely.

There was one young man in the bible named Samson, who was blessed by the Lord as he grew up and the Spirit of the Lord began to take hold of him. One day on his way to a city named Timnah, he was attacked by a lion. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he tore the lion's mouth in two with his bare hands!

Sponsor AdAside from that incident of shutting the lion's mouth, he also triumphed over the Philistines because God's Spirit empowered him (Judges 15:14-20), and he became the judge of Israel for twenty years, and the Spirit gave Samson the strength and ability to subdue great numbers of his enemies and to accomplish great victories.

However, in the New Testament, after Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to help His followers, things did indeed change. Peter replied, "Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles - all who have been called by the Lord our God." (Acts 2:38-39).

We no longer need to wait for His Spirit to come upon us, for the Holy Spirit lives and dwells in all believers and worshipers. Today, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to resist the devil, accomplish, and perform great things for God. What a privilege we have - to be the temple of the Holy Spirit!

Today let's praise the Lord for the Spirit, who "helps us" and "pleads for us." And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. (Romans 8:26-27).

The Spirit helps us to overcome temptations, triumph over evil and other things that will try to destroy us. Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit that lives within us each and every day, and helps us to crucify and take off the old nature and put on and wear our new nature in Christ!

We are empowered by His Spirit!