Are we living the Christian life in our own strength, or are we truly depending on the power of the Holy Spirit? Have we taken time to tarry before the Lord, to receive His enabling presence?
As we come to the close of Jesus’ earthly ministry, we are drawn to His clear command to His disciples: “Tarry… until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). This call to wait—to be still before going—reveals a cornerstone truth of the Christian life: we cannot live out the commands of Christ without the empowering of His Spirit. Jesus had shown them the way, given them the Word, but He knew they couldn’t walk in it unless He Himself lived it out through them. This promise of the Father—the indwelling and continual filling of the Holy Spirit—is the fulfillment of ancient prophecy and the foundation of every believer’s strength. As we receive His Spirit, He not only opens our eyes to the Scriptures (Luke 24:45), but also works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). We are reminded that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5), but with Him, we are clothed with divine power—dunamis—the very breath and force of God, enabling us to live the life to which we’ve been called. Let us confess our utter need, wait on Him, and allow Christ to do in us what we could never do alone. “I can’t—but You never said I could. You can—and You always said You would.”
