Author: racheltheunissenwriter

Wilderness Seasons – Part Four – Jesus

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I hope you’ve found the last three weeks helpful for your walk with God and this week we’re finishing with the man around whom all of time pivots.

We don’t know much about Jesus’ first thirty years except that he grew in favour with God and man. But I’m sure there were many wilderness seasons during that time. 

The two wilderness seasons I want to focus on today are the forty days in the wilderness that we read about in Luke 4 and then in the garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26.  

This first wilderness was when Jesus had only just started his ministry when he was baptised by John in the Jordan river. After this he headed into the wilderness, where he prayed and fasted. It’s only at the end of this time, when physically, Jesus would have been at his weakest, that Satan comes to tempt Him. 

The three temptations that Jesus faced are ones we face regularly, though it may not be immediately obvious. The first temptation is to give in to his flesh by eating bread. Jesus had committed this time to fast, making a slave of his flesh by not giving in to it’s desires. Our world is quick to tell us that if it feels good, it’s right, but Jesus wanted to be the master of His flesh rather than allow it to master Him. We face this same temptation with how and what we eat and what we do with our bodies. 

Next, he was tempted to get power and dominion the easy way. He already had a right to all power and authority, he’d chosen to give it up. Choosing God’s way over the enemy’s shortcut. We face this when we have an opportunity to lie to get ahead or gossip to bring someone else down. 

Finally, he was tempted to prove himself to the world by throwing himself down from a very public place, the temple in Jerusalem, and have angels lift him up. That way, everyone would know who he was. But he rejected this and allowed the world to choose whether or not to accept him. We have to learn that the world may not accept who we are, but we can still choose to live in a way that brings glory to Him. 

Jesus faced these temptations and overcame them so that we could do the same. As it says in Hebrews 8:15, He was tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

His time in the wilderness had left him physically weak, but spiritually strong. He was able to withstand the temptations because His relationship with His father was strong enough to sustain him. He knew His identity. 

Another of his wilderness moments comes in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knows what lies before Him. He faces rejection from His friends and followers, He knows he’ll experience separation from His Father as he takes on the sin of mankind. In this moment, he gets on His knees, like Joseph he’s done nothing wrong, like David he is pursued by enemies and like Elijah he pours his heart out to His Father. 

This moment is defining for Him and for us. We can face hardship, winter seasons, and injustice, but like Jesus we can say, ‘Not my will be done but yours’. We can find, in surrender, peace and the strength to go on. 

Remember, we have one who will lead us through the wilderness, through the desert and give us hope. We can lean on our beloved. Song of Songs 8:5 – Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved? 

We can lean on Jesus, knowing that he learnt to lean on His father. He knows our struggles and wants to lead us through them. 

Wilderness Seasons – Part Three – Elijah

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How are you doing with your new year’s resolutions? Feeling like you’re in a wilderness where dreams go to die! I hope not! But as I said last time when I feel like I’m in that kind of wilderness, I’ve found it helpful to look at different bible character and how they coped with those season. We’ve seen Joseph and how he clung onto God. David and how he found a place of rest and refreshing in his relationship with God and this week we’re going to look at Elijah before finishing next week with Jesus.

Elijah was a prophet in Israel at the time of King Ahab and Jezebel. The nation is going after the god of Baal rather than the living God. So Elijah calls together the people and the priests of Baal to demonstrate that the Lord is the only true God. He facilitates an incredible move of God, who comes down with fire on the sacrifice he offers. 

This is the moment you expect there to be trumpets and a victory march with Elijah at the centre of the celebrations. But instead, we see him needing to run for his life and even asking God to take his life. 

Elijah undertakes a journey of about 260 miles to Mount Sinai. What a journey that must have been. He was in turmoil. I’m sure he was questioning whether he was doing God’s will and why, if he was, things had turned out like they had. 

Before he takes that journey, God gets him to do two things. First, sleep. Often, our depression can come from a place of exhaustion and what we really need is to rest. Then God sends an angel to feed him. He gave him bread, carbs to build him up! Another reason we can feel low is that we haven’t thought about what we’re putting into our bodies. 

This rhythm is repeated twice. God cared about Elijah’s mental and physical health. Only when he was ready did God allow Elijah to start his journey.

This man was low, can you imagine how lonely that journey must have felt? Walking alone in a desert, a barren land, only his thoughts for company and none of those were comforting. He had seen all the other prophets killed and now was the only one left. What a long road that would have been to walk. 

When he gets to Horeb he stays in a cave and God speaks to him. This is the God who has just brought fire down from heaven! He asks Elijah why he has come. Not because he doesn’t know the answer, but because God wants a relationship! 

Elijah isn’t afraid to be honest with God about his fears and disappointments. God doesn’t reject him because of them, but meets with him in the midst of his pain. Even after he’s endured fire, earthquake and hurricane to hear the gentle whisper of God’s voice, Elijah feels the same. 

God’s solution isn’t an easy one. He’s told to go back the way he came. To walk back through the wilderness knowing God was with him. To know he wasn’t really alone the first time. Elijah’s wilderness season doesn’t end with a happily ever after, but it does end with an assurance that God is with him.

I think this is a helpful reminder to us that sometimes we need to be honest with God and with ourselves about how we’re feeling. 

Elijah’s time in the wilderness gave him the strength to go on. God gave him a next step so that he could leave it, knowing he wasn’t alone. 

Often when we’re in wilderness seasons, we can’t see the way ahead, and it may be that we want to hide our struggles from God and those we love. But if instead we speak to God and recognise that as the one who made us and planned our days, He is the only one who can help us, then we can find peace and a first step back into the world. God sent His son so that we could have His Spirit dwell within us. Meaning we can have a relationship with Him.

Let’s enjoy our privilege and learn to listen for the gentle whisper in the hurricane of life. 

Wilderness Seasons – Part Two – David

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As I said last time, at this time of year it feels like a long wilderness! Probably more especially this year, with the cost of heating so high and it feels much colder in our homes. So I’ve been thinking about bible characters who experienced wilderness seasons in order to learn from them. Last time we looked at Joseph, today will be David and then next week Elijah and finishing with Jesus.

David was the most famous, and probably the best, King, Israel had. But his journey to the throne was not a straight-forward one. He is anointed king at the age of seventeen, but actually only ascends to the throne at thirty. So he had thirteen years of waiting. Some of that time he was in complete obscurity, then he was in King Saul’s palace and his last season before ascending to the throne. He lived as an exile in the wilderness for years. Pursued by the king he had never wronged. 

It’s in this wilderness that David learns how to lead. He has about four hundred men with him for whom he becomes responsible. He spends time in the wilderness of Ziph, which was a mountainous desert region. It’s thought to be here that David wrote Psalm 63. He is physically suffering as a result of the desert around him, but instead of complaining, he turns his mind to God and talks of his longing for him. Verse 1 says: 

You, God, are my God,

earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,

    my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

    where there is no water.

He knows he is going to be the next king of Israel, but he has to wait. He has to learn what it means to trust God, not just for himself, but for the men he leads. 

In the wilderness, we find David experiencing a time of testing. He is given more than one opportunity to kill Saul, but each time, even though he is tempted to by his followers, he restrains himself to wait for God’s timing.

One time, he is pursued by Saul and his army around a mountain, the situation looks dire. Then Saul is suddenly called away to fight a real battle. It’s here that David takes his men to a place called En Gedi. 

This would have felt like a paradise in comparison to the desert he’s been in. En Gedi was and still is an oasis in the desert, a place of waterfalls, springs and palm trees. After a time of being pursued and longing for water, this must have felt like the garden of Eden. 

Can you imagine how it would have felt for David and his men to be hot, exhausted and constantly pursued? To be looking for refuge, for food, and water. Then to come upon En Gedi. Can you imagine their joy as they leapt into the freshwater pools and stood under the waterfalls? Washing away the sweat and dust of the desert. 

This story is an encouragement for us. We can be in a battle, or a dry season, and even in the midst of that, God is our En Gedi. He is our place of refreshment. We can rest in Him. Enjoy him, drink in the peace of His spirit and find nourishment from His word. 

David went on to have more seasons of wilderness and struggle, but he had a place of ultimate rest, and En Gedi was a symbol of that rest and restoration. 

David is called a man after God’s own heart, and this is because he spent time pursuing God’s heart, learning what was important to Him. We can daily come to God and find our En Gedi moments as we spend time with him. He is our oasis and place of rest. 

So no matter where you are today or how you’re feeling, find time to get to En Gedi and enjoy the refreshing of God’s waterfall of grace and love. 

Wilderness Seasons – Part One – Joseph

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As we start a new year, often we spend a lot of time thinking about new beginnings and what’s next, but often at this time of year it can feel so bleak with it being dark so much of the time and as I’m a summer person, the endless coldness gets to me! But there is something about winter and winter seasons in our lives that brings us closer to God. 

As I was thinking about examples of this in the bible I was inundated with people I could talk about. Overr the next few weeks I want to look at four in particular. Starting today with Joseph, then David and Elijah and finishing with our ultimate example Jesus. 

You may think this is a bleak subject at a bleak time of year, but I want to give you good news. We have one who will lead us through the wilderness, through the desert, and give us hope. Song of Songs 8:5 says – Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved? We, the beloved, can lean on the One who is able to bear our burdens and wipe away every tear. 

So let’s start with Joseph. He has an easy start to life. Born to Jacob’s favourite wife, he was much loved and much wanted. His problems began when God spoke to him through dreams and he lacked the tact to hold his tongue and wait to see what happened. A lesson we could all learn from time to time! 

This resulted in the first of two wilderness seasons for Joseph. The first was on his journey to Egypt. He would have walked, literally through a desert to get there. He must have felt totally abandoned by God and his family. How awful to have all that stripped away from you and to suddenly face a future filled with uncertainty. When he arrives in Egypt, he is no longer a favoured son, but a slave sold to a rich Egyptian. 

Can you imagine how this felt? He could have become bitter, chosen to walk away from God, whom he must have felt had walked away from him. But Joseph chose to hold on to God and worked for His glory. The result was that he was given a position of responsibility within the household.  

Then we have his second wilderness season, which made the first seem like a walk in the park. He’s falsely accused of assaulting his master’s wife and put in prison. This time, he has the torment of knowing his master had trusted him and has been perceived as betraying him. In Genesis 39:20-23 we see again that even in this dire situation, Joseph clings to God’s steadfast love. 

While in this prison wilderness, he meets two men and is gifted to interpret their dreams, all he asks in return is to be remembered. Even this request isn’t granted for another two years. Two years of waiting. Two years of wilderness, hope deferred. 

During that time we don’t know what he did. All that’s said is that God is with Him and grants him success in all he does. So even in that place of not knowing his future, of having no idea what was next, he stayed faithful to the God of his Father. 

After two years, he’s finally summoned before Pharaoh to interpret a dream and is able to do it with God’s help. He claims no glory for himself but is given it by Pharoah. 

This is the point at which you think the story ends happily ever after, and in a way it does, but first we see the fruit of his years in prison as he meets his brothers. When he reveals himself to them, he embraces them. He tells them it was God who sent him to Egypt, not them. 

He spent his wilderness years getting closer to God so that when faced with those who had caused him pain and separated him from his family; he can forgive and see God’s hand in all that has happened. 

So when you’re facing times of wilderness, rather than running from God or allowing your heart to get hard, draw close to Him. Look for areas where you can see His hand. He has promised to never leave you or forsake you. If you don’t know what’s next, wait on Him, serve where you are, love the people around you. 

Hold on to Romans 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Not as an empty platitude but as a truth that you can cling to. Seek first His Kingdom and wait to see His goodness come to pass.

Similarities with Writing and Music!

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Recently, I’ve been thinking about how different people read books and my wonderfully wise husband, Sean, gave me a very helpful analogy that I thought I would share with you!

Sean is a musician, he plays himself but he also loves to listen to all different types and styles of music. He can appreciate the work that has gone into it. In this way, he’s similar to me with books. I love to write and read.

But for some people, not all music is equal. For some people, pop is to be avoided. It’s plastic, fake, not proper music! (Not my opinion!) Those same people could love things like Jazz and Classical music because they’re looking for the craft in the music, rather than a catchy tune they can sing along to. (A catchy tune is about my level!) In the same way, some people are reading for literary greatness, looking for meaning everywhere, scorning every adverb or wrongly placed comma.

So this means as a writer I need to decide who I’m writing for. Am I interested in ‘Pop’? Writing well crafted stories that people will enjoy and not notice the odd comma slip, adverb or imperfect plot. Or am I writing for people who enjoy ‘Jazz’? Readers who want to find deeper meanings and enjoy the book for the words more than the plot, who are looking for perfect prose.

People who are literary, for example, are usually not fans of Dan Brown. But Dan Brown has found phenomenal success because his plots are so gripping even if his prose is less than perfect.

Ideally, I need to aim to appeal to both audiences, but this can be a hard line to tread. For fear of over-editing, I can be reluctant to make any more changes, but by not editing enough, I open myself up to critique by literary readers. The answer, I think, is to be open to being edited harshly and choose what to accept without being offended. My blog on editing goes into more detail about this and you can read about how to handle critique here.

Overall, Sean’s analogy helped me to understand why I might not agree with my editor and feel irked by them! It’s not their fault they like Jazz! But I should listen to them because they know the craft at another level than I do or am interested in. So it’s up to me whether to write Jazz or Pop but whichever I do, I need to do it well.

To get a diagnosis or not?

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I know that this can be a sensitive subject but I wanted to open up a discussion around diagnosis. Last year, I wrote about our journey to get a diagnosis of autism for our daughter. Having spent a lot of time researching and learning about autism, I’ve become more alert to it in others. Both in children and adults. What I’ve noticed is that there can be a lot of fear around getting a diagnosis. It centres around a fear of being labelled or having a child labelled for life.

With our daughter, we chose not to talk to her about her full diagnosis until recently, not because we wanted to hide it but because she has other learning difficulties and so she had enough to cope with. But now that she does know, it doesn’t define her. She knows she’s loved and accepted in our family and with her friends. The diagnosis has helped her to understand why she finds certain things difficult, and why when I say she probably needs to get some space, it’s not me wanting to exclude her but trying to help her regulate her emotions. The diagnosis isn’t a negative thing but a positive one that helps her navigate a world that she doesn’t always understand and doesn’t always understand her.

Often for adults I know who receive a diagnosis or even choose to recognise autism in themselves, they find they have a ‘lightbulb moment’. They suddenly understand why they struggled at school or why they do things the way they do. It doesn’t necessarily change their lives, but it gives them a new level of self-awareness. It can also give language to their challenges and solutions to help overcome them.

Another thing I hear is, ‘We’re all somewhere on the spectrum, so what’s the point?’. I understand what they mean, but no, we’re not all somewhere on the spectrum and it’s kind of insulting to reduce the struggles of someone with autism to the same as everyone else has. What people mean when they say everyone is somewhere on the spectrum is that some people have sensory challenges or don’t like change. Neither of those things alone adds up to autism.

So what’s the answer? It starts with a consideration of the language we use around autism. One of the helpful and small changes is to stop thinking of autism as an entirely negative thing. Autism can be called ‘Neuro-diversity’, a different way of thinking. So either you are neuro-diverse or neuro-typical. Neither is better than the other, just different. Some of the most successful people in the world are neuro-diverse. I think the world needs neuro-diverse people to see things differently and innovate for the good of everyone.

What if you don’t want to get a diagnosis or it’s not actually possible to get one? Often it’s really hard to get a diagnosis, whether you want one or not. In that case, it’s worth understanding what autism is, there are different types of neurodiversity such as ADHD and Aspergers (not typically used as a diagnosis due negative connotations). There are lots of symptoms that make up neurodiversity but the main thing to know is that someone who these can live a full and happy life. It doesn’t mean they are less or unable to experience the full range of emotions, it doesn’t mean they don’t have empathy (as I’ve heard people sometimes say). Understanding Autism, whether you get a diagnosis or not, will help with yourself and your own children, it will also give you an empathy for others.

We’re now at a point where we believe one of our other children may be on the spectrum and so are living in this tension. Currently, we’re going to look at ways to support them as they face challenges at school and home, without a diagnosis. We want to be positive in our approach, not denying the challenge but facing it and looking for solutions.

My hope in writing this is that we all become more able to talk about autism (neuro-diversity), that we take the mystery out of it and restore hope to those who are autistic or have autistic children. Let’s embrace our diversity and celebrate it where we can.

Saying Goodbye to 2022

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At the beginning of every year, we are filled with optimism about what lies ahead. We make plans and set goals. Often to be forgotten only a few months (maybe even weeks) later. Around Christmas and New Year, we have a few family traditions. My favourites are the little routines we have at New Year.

On New Year’s Eve, we sit down as a family and make a poster of thankfulness. We draw around each family member’s hand (the poster has gotten bigger each year!) and then fill the hand with all the things that person is thankful for. This gives us a chance to look back at what has happened over the year. We laugh at the silly memories, we talk about the best parts of our holidays, the biggest surprises we had and touch on things that made us sad. But mostly we’re grateful for all that’s happened.

Then on New Year’s Day, we sit back down at the table and take out our time capsule envelope! In it, each year we write a note to ourselves a year ahead and open it on New Year’s day of the following year. This is always very amusing, looking at the things we hoped we would achieve or resolutions we made. It’s always interesting to sit and write a letter for the next year. Thinking this time I’ll be realistic, but as we start to dream about what we’d like to achieve in that year the dreams get bigger! I encourage that! Aim high, who knows what might happen and even if it doesn’t work out, what have you lost? We’ll all enjoy reading it next year.

Both these traditions can draw groans (particularly from the teenagers), but every year we can see how far we’ve come and look forward to what’s ahead. I’ve kept every one of those posters and letters. When the kids were small, they would draw pictures instead of write letters, they’re dreams were smaller but no less important. Time has flown and so these traditions mark time and keep us aware of how fleeting our years with children are.

As 2022 draws to a close, I can honestly say it’s been a real rollercoaster of a year with spectacular highs and dramatic lows. A year when my oldest son turned sixteen, the age Sean and I were when we met! We’ve been able to have dozens of different friends in our home for dinner or just to spend time with and we’ve been learning again what it means to rest.

Saying goodbye to 2022 is a relief in a lot of ways, but as often is the case, we start a new year at the top of a rollercoaster, waiting to see what lies ahead as we launch ourselves into 2023!

What is an Autism Meltdown?

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An autism meltdown is something I read about very early in our journey to a diagnosis and what I read made me cry in relief! Since then as a family we’ve learnt to navigate this challenge without judgement and oftentimes ignoring what parents of Neurotypical kids might think is the best way to handle it.

For us, meltdowns usually don’t happen in a public place, occasionally they do, but most often it’s in a safe place like our home. Now this can pose a problem, especially for those with girls, as it means no one else sees the struggle. Our journey to diagnosis kicked up a notch when a meltdown happened outside the school in view of the SENco (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator).

A meltdown isn’t a temper tantrum, though it looks like it, it’s a complete overload, think nuclear meltdown! So this will often happen after a stimulating day at school or when you’ve been somewhere where there has been a need for heightened sensory processing. (See my blog post for details of sensory processing).

This means reasoning, cajoling, or scolding isn’t going to make it better. Think of a meltdown similar to an epileptic fit and you’re closer to understanding what’s going on. The child has lost control, so you need to hold your control and be the parent. This will look different for every child.

For us it has meant we go into first aid mode. We need to get our daughter somewhere safe (when she was younger this meant physically removing her to a place she could be alone), and then give her time to wind down. For every child this will be different, maybe they need to shout in their room, or snuggle themselves under a weighted blanket, or have a punch bag to let it out on.

The important thing is not to try and work this out during the meltdown. Talk about it the next day or when things are next calm. Don’t be judgemental, ask questions, be loving and kind. It must be scary for them to have lost control. They need to know they’re still loved even though they’ve screamed at you and said hurtful things.

It’s not personal when your child says they hate you. They’re hating everything! Get yourself out of the way if you’re not helping. When things are calm, if it helps give a hug, or if that’s not helpful, remind them that you love them and want to help if you can.

I know I’m making it sound like it’s easy and everything will be ok if you follow these steps, but believe me, parenting is never a case of following the steps to get a desired outcome. But we’ve found that keeping channels of communication open, learning not to yell back and remembering the toddler rule of ‘Don’t negotiate with terrorists!’ has been really helpful! They don’t mean to hurt you, they’re overloaded.

Our role is to help take the load off. Help them to find what’s helpful and what things are triggers, then giving them the space they need to wind down. Find someone to speak to, don’t do this alone. Having another parent to cry with when times are tough is a real life line. There are support groups available locally or use social media to find a buddy to journey this with.

You are doing a great job, don’t give up. Keep on loving and giving space and like us you’ll start to see self-regulation.

Reclaiming Part Four – Purpose

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Over the last three weeks we’ve looked at different ways we can Reclaim our relationship with God. We already looked at Reclaiming our Identity, our wellbeing, and our power. Today, we’ll finish by looking at reclaiming our purpose. 

When we think of purpose we can think of it as the same thing as our identity. Or you can think of your purpose as some ethereal thing out there that we’re trying to attain. Like putting a destination into a sat nav, we tap in what we want to be and work out how to get there. 

Our purpose is often a part of stepping into who we are, who we’ve been made to be. The first and most important thing we’re all called to do is to Love God and to Love others. This was Jesus’ answer when asked what the most important commandment was. We see this reiterated in 1 Corinthians 13, when Paul talks about how we can do incredible things, even die as a martyr but if we do it without love it’s worth nothing. 

That’s not a glamorous answer that the world is looking for. It doesn’t bring you fame and fortune. It might not even bring you gratitude and appreciation on earth but Jesus says that our Father in heaven sees what is done in secret and rewards it. 

We’re called children of God and so we’re caught up in God’s plan to advance His Kingdom on earth. This means as we see His Kingdom come we’ll see an increase in the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As His kingdom breaks out we’ll see more freedom, physically and emotionally, we’ll see healings, deliverances, we’ll see clarity come from disorder, we’ll see creativity and beauty. 

What’s incredible is that this Kingdom is within us and so we carry it with us wherever we go. Each of us has individual, unique gifts given to us to demonstrate aspects of God’s character and uniquely bring God’s kingdom. 

Our calling is so much more than what we do in a church on a Sunday morning. It affects everything about us in every different season of our lives. Our identity remains the same, we are loved, accepted and secure In Christ but our purpose may change.  

Some seasons may be more visible than others. When I was at home with small children I was serving God’s call just as much as when I’m bringing God’s word on a Sunday morning at church. There isn’t a hierarchy of serving God. 

David was called to be a king as a teenager but he had to wait to see that calling come to pass. In the time he was waiting he wasn’t grouchy or complaining. He got on with what God had put in front of him. He looked after the sheep, he took lunch to his brothers, he played harp for the king. He used the gifts God had given him to serve where he was.

We might have a prophetic word over our lives that we haven’t yet seen fulfilled but we can still pursue God’s purpose by following what he’s given us to do right now. 

We might be in a valley season where life is really tough and it’s hard to see the next step, let alone a purpose in this. But we can find God in those Valleys. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. In Psalm 23 it says ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.’

Reclaiming our purpose is ultimately loving the person in front of us and serving God in whatever we have to do right now. Dreaming and planning for the future with Him without forgetting to be purposeful in loving and serving today. 

In all areas of reclaiming our relationship with God, our goal is not to gain control but to surrender it to our loving Father who knows the plans he has for you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Seek Him wholeheartedly and you’ll see Him ultimately work things together for good. 

Reclaiming Part Three – Power

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Over last couple of weeks we’ve been looking the different ways we can Reclaim our relationship with God. We already looked at Reclaiming our Identity and our wellbeing, today we’ll look at reclaiming our power and we’ll finish with reclaiming our Purpose next week. 

In Ephesians 1:18-21 Paul prays that we will be able to understand the Power that we have now that we are ‘In Christ’. When we give our lives to Him we are then given the power of the Holy Spirit to live. 

Often when we think of power we think strength, or control, or things like girl power! But when Jesus considered His power in John 13:3-5 we see something totally different. It says this – 

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He knew He had all the power anyone could ever want and rather than using it to demand everyone does what He wants them to, or to take His rightful place as King. He uses his power to demonstrate His love for his friends. He knows that in a few hours all these friends would abandon Him because one of them betrayed Him. Still he chooses to wash their feet. 

So when we consider power, it’s not about taking control over others but taking control of ourselves. This means in a world that tells us to put ourselves first we put Him first. 

Often we can have things in our lives that control us. The bible calls these things idols. We can think about idols and be very sure that we don’t have that primitive problem. If we do think that we’ve become blinded by our culture. Just because we don’t have a carving of Aphrodite or Venus doesn’t mean our culture isn’t bowing down to the god of sexuality & beauty, or because we’re not carrying a talisman of Plutus doesn’t mean we’re not seeking after and pursuing wealth and possessions. 

We’re deceived if we think we don’t go after these things, and the enemy is happy for us to be deceived because it means we don’t reclaim the power given to us by our loving Father. We have the power to say ‘no’ to these things by the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t mean it will be easy but we can do it. 

I think the biggest idol of our time is the ‘self’. We see this in the exponential growth of social media. I’m sure we’re all aware of how powerful it has become. We are encouraged to share photos of ourselves being happy to show the world our value. We look at others and feel our own inadequacy. It’s almost become automatic that we pick up our phone whenever we become bored or have a moment. We’re all looking for that dopamine hit of validation. 

We’ve had it drummed into us that freedom means doing whatever makes you feel good. Without any consideration of the consequences, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else is the only limit! There’s no definition of what constitutes hurt, or whether it matters that you’re hurting yourself. 

We’re made to reflect the Glory of God, not to try and create a glory of our own. If we start pursuing our own glory, we need to be worried. What if God gives us our desire? Would the glory that the world gives be lasting? Or would you take one step wrong and be cancelled. Our culture at the moment is very quick to just eliminate any good that’s been done by one moment of weakness or even a slightly different opinion to the norm. If you start pursuing your own glory, it won’t be long before all you’re left with are ashes and dust. 

So many things can become idols in our lives, it’s been said that our hearts are an idol factory, and it’s not that the things in themselves are bad but when they take the place of God or they become our go to place for comfort or fulfilment then we’ve lost sight of the power of the One who made us. The One who died for us and fights for us. The One who leaves the 99 to find the 1. The One who knows that we will be most satisfied when we are resting in Him. 

So in order to reclaim our power we need to recognise the one who gives us power, we need to get to know Him through the Word and prayer. 

His power means we can say ‘no’ to things that will actually harm us. We can say ‘yes’ to living like Jesus and loving those around us sacrificially.