The Light of the Son (Friday Devotional)

 

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

- Philippians 4:12-13

In popular culture, Superman is synonymous with power. Blades cannot pierce his skin, neither heat nor cold have any effect on him, and he can break steel chains with minimum effort. His eyes can see through walls one minute and burn through them in another. He’s faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. There is seemingly nothing Superman can’t do.

And yet all these powers are premised on one thing: the yellow rays of Earth’s sun. Under the red sun of his home planet of Krypton, the so-called Superman is just Kal-El, an ordinary Joe like you or me. The Caped Crusader is an indestructible force for good—but only so long as he is empowered by the Sun.

In the Bible, we read about larger-than-life figures like Moses and David, Esther and Mary, Peter and Paul—individuals who rose above their meager circumstances to do great things for their people. When we read these characters’ stories, it can feel like they’re mythic figures with spiritual strength we can only dream of possessing. They seem like supermen who stand above us.

But if these heroes are supermen, it is only because of the power they were given. Moses was no deliverer until God called him in a burning bush. David was only a shepherd until the prophet of God anointed him. Mary was just a peasant girl until the Holy Spirit worked within her.

Paul, one of these larger-than-life figures himself, pointed out that his ministry had been far from easy—he’d been persecuted, he’d been hungry, and he’d been needy. Yet despite all he suffered, he was able to endure, not because of his own inner strength but because of the strength he was given.

You may feel like you’re nobody. You may believe you’re going nowhere fast. You may think you have nothing to offer the Lord God Almighty. But if so, remember this: God doesn’t create supermen—he gives ordinary people the power of the Son. And with that power, he works wonders.