Trust: power flows from intimacy

I've been thinking a bit over the last few days on the relationship between power and intimacy. Particularly with all the healings we've been hearing of from Florida and elsewhere, people are talking a lot about the power of God again. However, I’ve had a few friends that have now been to Florida, and interestingly none of them came back talking about the power of God. Instead they all came back talking about the intimacy of God. Their experience was one feeling near to God, and tasting afresh his love. So why then when their major experience was one of intimacy did they also witness such incredible power? I think it's because God’s power flows from his intimacy. When we fall in love with him, we learn to trust him again, because trust is the language of intimacy. And when we trust him, we act in accordance with what we believe God to be. Those that trust God begin to pray for the sick because they trust in God as a Healer. They begin to share their faith with people, because they trust God as a Saviour, and they begin to pray for the oppressed because they trust God as our Liberator. And in short, trust releases God's power.

I guess I have therefore felt pretty challenged to seek God afresh. In the knowledge that all sorts of evils are committed when power is separated from love, I believe God is calling us back to intimacy. Only in that place of knowing his love and loving in return do we begin to step out in obedience and allow his power to be made known. Paul summarised it pretty well (which he has a habit of doing!): 'And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.'

Yes please!

Welcome to WonderStuff

Someone once famously said that all you need to be a good philosopher is the faculty of wonder. If we define wonder as 'to think or speculate curiously', then I couldn't agree more. But if we add the alternative definition 'to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe', we can surely also say that all we need to be good theologians (and good worshippers) is the faculty of wonder: for it's pretty hard to think about God without being led to awe. So here is a blog of my wonderings. For the two or three of you that get to read it, I hope it causes you to wonder!