The title doesn’t make sense does it?  How can you be powerful when you are powerless.  From birth we work on becoming more powerful in our decision making.  As an infant/toddler, we want to feed ourselves, shut our mouths when others try to feed us.We want to be in control.  When it comes to dressing ourselves as a child, we want to do it.  We have the power to not only dress ourselves but choose what clothes we want to wear.

As a teenager, we want to be dropped off at the mall and be with our friends without our parents.  We like being powerful in making our decisions without the input from our parents.  What about getting a drivers license so that we have the power to go places anytime we want and wherever we want without outside influences.

We move into adulthood and experience more power as a multitude of choices are at the tip of our mind.  Life partner.  Career.  Apartment/home.  Income.  Adult toys.  Increased career responsibilities.  It seems that as we move through the lifecycle, more and more power is at our disposal to implement.

So why do I title this jlog Powerlessness=powerful.  Well, I came across a passage in the Old Testament that begins to define this seemingly oxymoronic phrase.  It’s a story of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah who was attacked by a neighbor whom Israel has passed by decades earlier and chose not to fight them because God told them not to fight.  Jehoshaphat was confronted by them wanting to attack Judah.  We pick up the story where Jehoshaphat is praying to the Lord because of this dilemma.  “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they,(Israel) turned away from them and did not destroy them.. . .Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Did you get the phrase “for we have no power to face this fast army.”?  We have no power. They felt powerless for the task at hand.  When we feel powerless, we are in the exact position for God to work.  The less power we feel, the more God is able to come to our rescue and do His work.  When we feel that we can accomplish or solve the problem we are facing, we don’t need God.  It reminds me of the story of Gideon who went from 32,000 troops to 300 troops.  God needed to thin our the troops so that when He gave Gideon the victory, there could be no doubt that He was the one who did it.  Powerlessness is the first step in God stepping in and taking control of whatever situation we face.

Look at how God responds to Jehoshaphat.  “Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭20:10, 12, 16-17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On this journey, powerlessness is the best place to be for God to do His work and to experience His power.