Spiritual energy

Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.

Put on the armor of God so that you may be  able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens (Ephesians 6:10-12).

Our modern and scientific age congratulates itself on no longer being subject to fear and superstition about heavenly powers----the gods are angry when volcanoes erupt or lightening strikes, for example.  Unfortunately, with our enlightenment also came disbelief, or at least discredit to, spiritual powers and energies.

Now, however, even science is beginning to discover that the physical world is dominated by unexplained energy---things that we cannot explain.  For example, some years ago, scientists began to notice while experimenting with light waves/particles that different results would be obtained from the experiment depending on whether there were observers in the room during the experiment or not.  The presence of observers who did nothing but "be there," not moving, but just watching, seemed to affect the outcome of the experiment. 

Einstein, for one, just could not believe that the universe did not operate according to strict and unchanging laws of physics.  Baffled by what science eventually came to call "chaos theory," that is, that physical phenomena is not always predictable, but change with circumstances, Einstein for years resisted his observations.  At one point, he actually changed his mathematical data because he could not accept his own findings.  His "error" was caught by other scientists replicating his formulae and experiments, leading finally to Einstein's classic E=mc2 formula.

Now we are slowly beginning to accept that our own spiritual energy affects not only those around us, but physical phenomena.  Experiments in Russia over 3 decades ago revealed even that crops growing in the field responded more to the experimental team than to any 'fertilizer' applied. 

Jesus said, For them do I sanctify myself.  He spoke a "scientific" as well as a spiritual truth.  Our own spiritual energy radiates, or fails to radiate, to those around us.  Our own spiritual energy commands and controls more than we ever imagined what happens in the physical realm.  Star Wars tapped into this reality with its powerful "May the Force be with you!"

But our own energy is not manufactured by us; the best we can do is to receive it from the Source.  The sun radiates its own energy without fail to the earth, providing it constantly with light and warmth and renewal.  If we fail to "soak up" the healing rays of the sun, it is because we are soaking up something else---television, video games, bars and lounges, drugs, etc.  One of the reasons the casinos create a universe of their own--without windows, with constant noise and clatter, with artifical flashing lights--is to keep its inhabitants captive and away from the natural world of sunrise, sunset, light, waves, birds, etc.   Nature is a sacrament of the Presence and Action of God, of spiritual renewal, wisdom, and energy---just what the casinos do not want people to experience!

The "world rulers of this present darkness" know that if they can keep people from "drawing [their] strength from the Lord and from his mighty power," they can command and control the physical realm with the powers of darkness, "with the evil spirits in the heavens."  It's too bad we no longer believe in these evil spirits, for by rejecting belief in them, we have also rejected our belief in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit to command and control---through us---the rest of existence.

Those who walk in the light, who renew their spirits by observation of the natural world and by prayer, who open their hearts to receive the Spirit of God, will inherit the earth---and that's no longer just poetry; it's now science too.