Imagine, no power

No one has seen electricity. Few have felt it. Once a novelty, we now just take it all for granted.

Something of everyday utility value, from what has for years been one of the world’s most reliable and affordable electricity utilities, has suddenly become a major newsmaker. We face daily blackouts now and the economy is hurting.

But God is a greater reservoir of power that we also take for granted. He has always been there and we also take that for granted. The sun will surely rise tomorrow and life will continue much as it always has. Many will find personal strength in their knowledge of God, through prayer or meditation, His Word or other sources of inspiration. He will reach us through everyday moments and extraordinary experiences: sunsets, deaths, births, marriages, changing seasons and artistic expressions.

But what if He took a day off, or shut down the system for maintenance or reached an overload? Just think what happens when electricity fails and you will get some idea of how we will miss Him.

If power fails, lights fail and we are left in darkness. If God fails, the light that guides the conscience of humanity, our sense of right and wrong and our awareness of the implications of death would all cease to exist. We would be reduced to the instinctive existence of lesser animals, bereft of higher thought and reason. Without a conscience, could we truly appreciate beauty, innocence, love, artistic expression or music?

If power fails, security systems are compromised. If God fails or we lose connection with Him, our ability to transcend corruption and sin would be compromised. The influences of the world would no longer stop at the gates of our lives, but would overwhelm us. Our sense of being would be undermined, because human worth and dignity would have no residual currency in a Godless culture.

If power fails, hot water ends and we battle to keep ourselves or our clothes clean. If God fails or we disconnect, we will lose the cleansing, refining influence of His presence in our lives. The noble instinct to rise above the cesspool and aspire to a fuller life would be displaced by a one-dimensional instinct for survival. Expedience would rule, principle would die.

If power fails, heating and life support systems, including hospitals may also fail. If God fails, life will fade and we will retreat into a marginal existence. Our sense of community would die and we would become totally self-centred, fighting for personal survival. Our health and lifespan would be compromised and life would become cheap.

If power fails, traffic systems fail. If God fails, we lose all sense of direction and order in our lives. We will not know when to stop, go or turn and the probability of colliding with other lives would increase. Peace, stability, order and personal direction would fail and we would stray off course.

If power fails, aircraft cannot safely land. If God fails, we cannot find our way back home. We will wander through the night with no place to rest or set ourselves down, until we burn out and fall into a heap of ruins.

I could go on … but if you can imagine a society with no power for any period of time, you will get some sense of how bad life will get when God withdraws His spirit from our world. That is exactly what will happen in what the bible calls, “the great tribulation”, when humankind will be given over to its depravity and divine restraints will be removed (2 Thessalonians: 6-7).

Oh how we need Him. Malachai 3:6 says, “God never changes”. He has always been there and will always be there. He never fails and they that call on Him will be saved, for Power belongs to God, Psalm 62:11.

© Peter Eleazar at http://www.bethelstone.com/