Dear saints greetings in the blessed Name of our Lord Jesus🙂. I hope that the Lord has been preserving and prospering you. All of us are familiar with the famous Olympic torch that is lit in Athens and is kept ablaze while being passed through all the member countries until it’s extinguished at the end of the games. So in way the Olympic torch is an eternal flame (at least for the duration of the games). God has set that eternal flame in us in the form of His Holy Spirit, aflame that will never die if we let Him have His way.
Please turn with me to Exodus 1:1-3. This passage of scripture narrates the incident when a burning bush got Moses’ attention. What was fascinating about this incident was that the bush was ablaze but didn’t burn up (Exodus 1:3). Several theories were proposed in the past suggesting that there was a reservoir of oil underneath that kept the bush burning, etc. I’ll take God’s word for granted and suggest that the bush didn’t burn out because it was not a regular bush fire but the eternal flame of the Holy Spirit on display. What’s even more fascinating is that only a spectacular event like that could garner Moses’ attention. A rather zealous Moses (Exodus 2:11-25) who had tried to rescue the oppressed Israelites in a botched attempt that led to his exile (Exodus 2:15), was now contemplating of dying of extreme old age (Exodus 2:22). What Moses didn’t realize was that God’s will is always accomplished in God’s power and His way. An old and tired Moses became extremely curious at this event that defied natural laws of Physics. The subsequent narrative (Exodus 3, Genesis 4:1-17) explains how God empowered a reluctant and feeble Moses to lead an entire nation out of captivity. It’s also interesting that this tired old man was so empowered by the Holy Spirit that the day he died at a grand old age of 120, neither his vision nor vigor had diminished (Deuteronomy 34:7).
Let’s look at another illustration of the power of the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. In Acts 14:19-20 we witness an event in which the formerly violent Saul had now to face the heat when he was stoned in Lystra and Derbe. The Jews thought he was dead and dragged him outside the city. But when the brethren gathered around him, Paul simply got up and walked back into the city as of nothing had happened (Acts 14:20). The passion and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus is another classic example of the power imparted to a saint by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Doctors will explain that when a human being is under extreme stress and duress, the blood vessels (veins) can start leaking blood through the outer layers of the skin (epidermis). However, what confounds physicians is that a man who was under unimaginable stress and shed drops of bloods (instead of sweat) the night before (Luke 22:44), who was tortured all night (Mark 15) and was so weak that He couldn’t carry His own cross (Mark 15:21) could actually endure six hours of torture on the cross (Mark 15:33-37). The crucifixion process itself was particularly brutal. A man strung vertically up on a cross could find it particularly difficult to exhale as his diaphragm would press up against his lungs making breathing in and out extremely difficult. The Roman justice system had perfected the crucifixion process (often carried out on small shrubs and bushed due to shortage of wood) to inflict death not just due to bleeding but also from slow and bloody asphyxiation. If the Lord Jesus was able to withstand this agony for six hours as a man it had to be due to power from out of this world (What a man!).
So the next time you feel discouraged that you don’t have what it takes to endure what life throws at you, or people tell you to get your house in order as your time’s up, tell them that you’re walking into glory in full vigor and strength like sheaves in their season (Job 5:26). If we remain in His will saints, His power in us is an eternal flame that’ll keep burning for all eternity. There is no fatigue and exhaustion in His service. The more we give the more He pours out through us (Colossians 1:29). I can tell you from my experience that the older I get the stronger and more energetic I’m becoming.
Dear friends, I’m quite certain that all of you are sanctified, Holy Ghost baptized saints. Should there be any among you that don’t know the Lord yet, I pray that the Lord of the Universe will set you free from sin and disobedience into His glorious light and freedom. Amen.
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