When You Don't Quite Feel the Resurrection Power Inside You

Since celebrating Easter, I've thought a lot about the truth that the same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in me. That resurrection power lives in me. I can claim it and dwell on it and know it, but the truth is I don't always feel it. 

Some days are hard. Some nights are dark. Pain abounds and loneliness sweeps in. The mundane quickly makes me lose sight of the holy. Toddler tantrums, migraines, potty training, dirty dishes, laundry, dreams not yet realized, prayers not yet answered, bills, budgets, low bank accounts, student loans, fears, anxieties, loss, exhaustion. The day's duties quickly pile up and the future's uncertainties quickly bring worry.  

But it is actually the mundane that is flooded with the holy. Because it is in the everyday routine that God's faithfulness shines through. The grace that saved us is the grace that sustains us. And that sustaining grace testifies to the resurrection power. Whatever greets me in the light of day and whatever comes through the darkness of night, I can face because of that truth. I surely can't do it on my own. I can't face the chaos and the tragedies and the hardships that come in this life in my own strength; I can't trudge through the mundane tasks of each day in my own strength. 

And I certainly can't find any comfort in the often used phrase, "God won't give you more than you can handle." Because it's simply not true. We are given more than we can handle. That's the point. We must rely on Him. He is the One who carries us. He is the One who helps us. He is the One who sustains us. His power at work in us gives us the strength to persevere and the courage to press on. 

The resurrection power living in me might not always look or feel big and mighty and miraculous, but that's not where most of our lives are lived. Most of life is lived in the trenches, in the mundane, in the ordinary. And the resurrection power is in us through it all. We might not always recognize it, but we have constant access to it. And that changes everything! 

We now have the ability to:  have joy in the midst of suffering and peace in the midst of chaos; to cling to hope and to choose grace; pray for our enemies, love our neighbors, and forgive our wrongdoers; show patience, self-control, kindness, gentleness, and meekness; hunger and thirst for righteousness; live in constant gratitude; walk in freedom; delight in weaknesses; share the gospel.

And that is actually quite miraculous. 

The same power that rose Jesus from the dead, the resurrection power, the Holy Spirit Himself, lives in us. 

And I desperately, daily need that reminder.