Mona Selden writes daily devotions for her church, Marion Baptist, in south-central Virginia. She is co-host with her pastor on The Mosaic of Marion podcast. She has published devotionals and Bible Studies. Her writing and teaching are done with the desire to help others get to know God better through His Word. Mona’s husband is USAF Retired. They enjoy serving their church together and spending time with their adult children and their grandson.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11, ESV
When we think of having power, many things come to mind. We might think of people who have power over others. Or we might think of things that give power, things that make us strong. What we rarely think about is the power that lives in us if we are believers.
The power of God raised Jesus from the dead. That power was so great that it was “impossible for [Jesus] to be held in death’s power.” (Acts 2:24) Sometimes, we focus on the stone in front of the tomb that was rolled away. After all, the women who went to the tomb didn’t know how they were going to move it, for it was large (Mark 16:3-4). But the actual power was in the resurrection, the loosening of death’s grip, the defeating of death, hell, and the grave.
The power that made it impossible for the grave to hold Jesus lives in us. It didn’t just go away after Jesus’ resurrection. That resurrection power now comes to us through the Holy Spirit. When we say yes to Jesus’ gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of us (John 14:17). To talk about what we receive from the Holy Spirit and what He does for us would require a whole separate blog post. But one thing we can focus on is the power that Romans 8:11 tells us we have.
Having that resurrection power means we need to make sure we are living in it. To live in the power of the resurrection, we put to death our own desires, dreams, and wants. We allow the Holy Spirit to raise us up above those things and cause us to live according to God’s desires.
The power of the resurrection causes us to no longer desire the things of this world, and the things the world values are no longer of value to us. It keeps sin from having control of us. We are able to resist temptations and sin and live in obedience when we live in the power given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Resurrection power gives us the ability to endure the suffering that comes because of our faith (Philippians 3:10-11). But also, the suffering (sickness, job loss) that comes just because we live in a broken world. When we live in the power of the resurrection, we live in victory. Our enemy is already defeated. The grave no longer has a hold on us.
Paul said he wanted to know the power of the resurrection (Philippians 3:10). This knowing was experiential—not just a knowing by being told about it. He wanted to experience it. Can you make the same statement? Do you desire to experience the power of the resurrection in your life? You can. It is there for you.
