April 4

Divine Power

One day Jesus was teaching, and the Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. People had come from Jerusalem and from every village of Galilee and Judea, and the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick. — Luke 5:17 BSB

It wasn’t always this way. There was a time when we read that Jesus couldn’t do many miracles in a certain place. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to—he couldn’t. It seems strange to hear that “could not” was ever said of the all-powerful Christ.

Did he have moments of weakness? Were there times when his power left him? No.

The reason he couldn’t do many miracles then was because the people’s hearts weren’t open to receive what he had to offer. They didn’t meet his love and compassion with faith, so the divine power in him was restrained.

This is a lesson we need to learn. Christ always has the power to bless us, yet we can be near him and receive nothing. He may come to us ready to give us strength, comfort, joy, wisdom, and help, but still be unable to do so.

We have to be in a position to receive his blessings, or they won’t come. We can close our hearts so tightly that even Christ can’t force his blessings in. As weak as we are, even the power of God can’t force us to accept what we don’t want. Our unbelief is what keeps his power from working in us. But whenever we have faith and are willing to accept what Christ offers, his power will be there to heal and pour out blessings into our lives. He won’t force us to take his gifts.