An explosive force

"Not by power nor by might, but by my Spirit," says the Lord Almighty (Zech.4:6).

Everything in the spiritual life comes to us by and through the Holy Spirit, not by and through our own efforts or goodness.  If we truly knew and believed this, we would stop "trying" and simply ask the Holy Spirit to enter and to do the will of God in us and for us.

There is a simple prayer that anyone can say to discover the power (dunamis, in the Greek) of the Holy Spirit:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,

and kindle in them the fire of your love;

Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created,

and You shall renew the face of the earth.

Jesus told the Apostles when He was ready to ascend to heaven, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised....for in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit....You will receive power/ dunamis when the Holy Spirit comes on you..."

In the Greek, the word for "power" is dunamis, the same root of our English "dynamite."  Strong's Concordance gives the following meanings for dunamis:

force--specifically, miraculous power-- ability, abundance, meaning, might, mighty deed, mightly, worker of miracle(s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

Knowing the meaning of this word in the Greek gives a deeper understanding to Jesus' words, "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away."  On the one hand, He could have meant that evil is stealing the kingdom of heaven away from mankind; on the other, He might have meant that those who have the dunamis/power/strength of the Holy Spirit are taking the kingdom by "force."

In any case, the image of dynamite is a good one---the power of the Holy Spirit can blow away mountains, as in Zechariah.  It can soften hard hearts, strengthen weak hearts and hands, and empower people to tear down and to build up kingdoms.

If all of us would take seriously in our own lives the last words of Jesus to the Apostles:

Do not [begin your work] until you have received the power of the Holy Spirit,

we would discover the truth behind the words of Zechariah:  "not by power, not by strength, but by My Spirit," says the Lord of hosts.  Maybe the only way we can have the courage to ask for the "dynamite" Jesus referred to is to come to the end of our own strength and to experience the frustration of trying to do things in our own power.