MISSED OPPORTUNITIES. By Pastor Fernando

SCRIPTURE - Luke 4:13-14

"When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit..."

OBSERVATION

After a difficult time of testing in the desert, Jesus did not compromise His convictions and commitments and came out of the temptation in the power of the Spirit. Jesus put aside His divine powers and became fully human human, vulnerable to all kinds of temptations. The enemy was trying to ruin Jesus' calling, but the Lord resisted each trial and proved Himself worthy of the empowerment of the Spirit. As a human being, Jesus did not took His divine powers back, they were granted by the Father as a reward for His courage and determination to obey God's Word. The enemy tried to tempt Jesus over and over again when the Lord was the most vulnerable, but Jesus remained faithful, securing a constant flow of the Spirit's power in His life, not only to do miracles, but to keep moving forward towards the plan of God for His life.

APPLICATION

This passage always reminds me that in order to live empowered by the Holy Spirit we need to remain faithful to God's ways. We have an enemy, a tempter, that is constantly pushing our buttons, taking advantage of our weakest moments, and capitalizing in our failures. It would be depressing to think about all the opportunities for empowerment I missed because of my failed tests. However, the good news is that Peter was a disciple that also missed many opportunities because of his unfaithfulness, but that God restored and empowered when he increased in faithfulness and trusted God.

I'm aware of the many missed opportunities that I let go because of my sin and lack of faithfulness to God's ways. But I'm also aware that my life story is still in process. The first chapters may have a lot of failures, but I'm convinced that many things are yet to be done. I need to uproot any seeds of sin that I planted and sow seeds of obedience in my life. Each test will be difficult, but as I remain faithful, I will be endowed with more power in the Spirit to glorify God, to be used by Him for supernatural purposes, and to fulfill the calling He has for my life.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father, once again I come to you in repentance for the many seeds of sin I have planted and continue nurturing in my life. Please help me to uproot them and to plant seeds of obedience. I need your strength when the tempter comes. I want to remain faithful and reap the reward of a consistent empowerment of your Spirit in my personal life and ministry. Help us to never miss opportunities for miracles because of our unfaithfulness. And let your name be glorified in our lives. Amen!