What Difference Would It Make?

 For decades, children growing up in Sunday school have been fascinated by stories from the Old Testament. I still remember Bible characters who came to life on flannelgraph – Joshua as he led the Israelites in a march around Jericho to see the walls come crashing to the ground; Gideon whose army quickly decreased from 32,000 to 300, then witnessed victory over an enemy too many to number; young David who faced the fearsome giant Goliath and slayed him with a slingshot and rocks. And the list goes on and on. Men and women, submitted to God, living lives wholly dedicated to Him, who found Him faithful to work through them to lead God’s people in difficult circumstances.

People of all ages may read these stories with awe and wonder, imagining what it would have been like to be used of God to work miracles, save nations, and change individual lives. Others like the prophets also made a difference among the people as they spoke for God to offer words of warning and messages of hope for the nation of Israel.

These men and women in Bible history often were not considered strong leaders before being called by God. They were not even respected by the world’s standards. Yet they had something specific in common – the Spirit of the Lord was upon them, enabling them to carry out God’s plans. Undoubtedly, they would not take the glory for any of their accomplishments. On their own they were normal human beings, at times wondering, at times confused, at times fearful of what might be around the corner.

The difference was that they put their trust, their hope, their confidence in God for the victory. When the Spirit of the Lord was involved, He brought about the miraculous, giving boldness and courage to ordinary men and women who placed their faith in God.

We in the twenty-first century are not likely to face mighty armies or a bigger-than-life giant. Yet perhaps we can relate to the Old Testament prophets and the apostles in the first century whose words and lives impacted the people in their spheres of influence, and that as believers in Christ we are called to be faithful in our generation. 

We should be reminded of Moses’ declaration, “If only all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!” (Num. 11:29, NASB). This was not meant only for those who traveled with Moses through the wilderness. Joel prophesied of the time when God would “pour out (His) Spirit on all mankind” (Joel 2:28) and those gathered at Pentecost saw this fulfilled when “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak” (Acts 2:4), “speaking…of the mighty deeds of God” (vs. 11).

There are many who believe prophecy is related only to foretelling future events or that those who prophesy must possess a seminary degree or a definite calling by God for a specific purpose. Yet Moses desired that ALL God’s people would be prophets, and this began to be fulfilled when the church grew in Acts 1 as a result of many proclaimimg the goodness of God.

Which leads me to ask, what would it look like in our world, today if “all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them”? In fact, He has. Being Spirit-filled was not only for those at Pentecost and did not end with the first-century followers of Christ.

What if those of us who claim to be Christians saw ourselves as prophets as the Holy Spirit lives in us – not in an arrogant, self-righteous way, but in humility and submission to our Lord?

What if we were aware of the words we spoke and the lives we lived under the direction of the Holy Spirit?

What if we saw prophecy for what it was, not only foretelling what was to come, but also delivering messages of encouragement and instruction, warning and challenge, both to believers and nonbelievers we encounter in our lives?

What if in a world filled with negativity, criticism, fighting, bickering, and arguing, our words (and our actions) were Spirit-led and Spirit-inspired to exemplify that of a true Christ-follower?

What if we sincerely lived lives, led by the Spirit, showing we truly love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbors as ourselves?

What if we treated others the way we wanted to be treated, living Spirit-filled lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control?

What difference would it make in our churches if we existed as the united body of Christ, each one led by the Spirit?

What could the Holy Spirit do in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities (and even our world) if we lived and walked and moved and worked every moment of every day under His influence, completely surrendered to His leading?

We long for change and know that our forefathers in the faith experienced mighty acts of God as the Spirit directed. Though times and circumstances may be different, one truth remains the same – the Holy Spirit is alive and well, actively participating in His people who take God at His Word, place their faith in Christ as their Savior, and yield themselves to the Spirit’s control.

What difference would it make if we lived as if we really believed that?