Thursday 3 April 2008

Powerless

For two days after a blog on Strength, our quarters has been powerless. A storm knocked out our electricity and we're still waiting for it to be repaired. Several trees came down in the neighborhood. Had we still been in the office in Mont Albert, we would have had two days off work...another good reason for the relocation.

In between strength to strength, we might have periods where we feel powerless. Apart from the strength of God, it is our realistic condition. The power is given to accomplish God's purposes and to bring glory to His name. Other power plays are pointless.

Romans 5:6 (NIV)
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! So you've already made up the two days lost to the move.

Now that's productivity!

jsi said...

The strength God has to give and the realistic condition we carry - you have an exceptional post today about God's provision.
Thank you for your perspective of encouragement and strength within God's plan.

Anonymous said...

unfortunatley many people misuse the power that has been entrusted to them and within our structures they are able to get away with this the results being that many good people get frustrated and hurt.

"power" is a great word - it can be used for good purposes as God intends or for evil.

Anonymous said...

When I used to work for NSW Agriculture we arrived for work one winter morning to a blackout. Unable to use our computers we were left with no work to do. Having electric heaters we were also forced outside to warm up in the sun. When the manager of the research station walked by he questioned why we could not find some work to do that did not rely on power. A good question. Lucky for us we work for a God whose power works in all conditions.
Capt David.

Anonymous said...

I am one of the unfortunate ones whose power was off until 7-15 am this morning. As I have sat in the dark for 2 nights (just candles) but not enough light to do anything at first I found myself becoming frustrated but then I started to think about all of God's blessings toward me and what a difference that made. All other Units in our block were only out for 3 hrs but mine was that one on its own that didn't come back until this AM. Now that rest time has perhaps given me the energy to get to and throw out everything that is in the freezer and fridge -it all has to go, but again in God I have a great provider who will help me to replace those things. What a mighty God we have.

JDK said...

Maybe we didn't take Earth Hour seriously enough ;-)

Anonymous said...

Maybe God is letting us know just Who is in charge of climate change and what he thinks of our tokenism. The climate will change or not, and human beings can do nothing about it. If we really care about the poor we will embrace this truth and stop this silly nonesense. It only encourages gaia worshippers to impose further burdens on everyone, especially the poor, and in the long run, it is all futile, a chasing after the wind.

Anonymous said...

anonymous is right. Power can be misused, and it does hurt people.
I am continuing to grow concerned about how junior officer ranks are left open for abuse of power.
It is because of this that we are not good at keeping young officers.
It seems there has been a number of times when junior officers have been moved simply because their superior has not "liked" them.
In this case there is nothing the junior officer can do because moving is part of the "system"
Along with this is the "tag" that officer's are not "employed" by the Salvation Army. Because officers are not employed by the Army no complaints really have to be dealt with.
I believe, however, there will come a day when we will hear leaders give sincere apology for any abuse of power they may have participated in concerning their people, and establish a system where this may be prevented.
I also believe that one day we will all will be called to give account for our actions.
I only hope we are forgiving enough to accept the apology, and prepared enough for God's judgement.

Jim Knaggs said...

Anonymous - I sense you are being honest in an attempt to sort out a complicated issue.

Can I make a few things clear? We don't use or even think in terms of junior officers. Officers are dedicated people who we trust, value and to whom the mission is entrusted.

Without boasting, there is no other officer in this territory (I don't know where your experience comes from) that has more experience around appointment boards than I do. Again, I state this only to reference fact. Appointments are made in the sacred meeting of concerned, experienced officers who have TSA and officers in their hearts. Did you notice that no moves are exacted by an individual upon another?

I can understand how someone might draw your conclusions, but they are errant when it comes to appointments.

I am very concerned, however, about the abuse of power on any level. It is a common trait in society. TSA is not exempt. When and where we (you and me) are guilty of this, we need to ask forgiveness from God and from those we have abused. I agree.