Daily Devotional: Closer to God Every Day

Day 68: How to Unleash Your Spiritual Power

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19A)

Have you ever allowed yourself to truly consider just how much spiritual power rests within your own two hands?

While there have been moments when I did understood this truth, many times, I fall short in my understanding. Or in other cases, I just don't get how. How does this "spiritual power" rest in my hands? And how does God best use it to spread His name?

It's like: I know God can do immeasurably more than we can comprehend through our lives, but... how?

Granted, there will never be a day this side of eternity where I can explain to you all the ways and means of our Lord. He is far greater than any of us could ever comprehend; His ways are far beyond our own understanding. (That is scriptural!) However, I believe He gives us tremendous hints as to how He best works when we examine the life of His son, Jesus.

Consider the discussion Jesus had with His Father prior to being crucified on the cross in John 17. In His prayer, He recounted the ways He had completed the task His Father had set Him out to do.

And what did He immediately recount? He didn't go on and on about all the times He stood before the masses and gave captivating sermons. He didn't list off all the awe-inspiring miracles He performed. While those were certainly necessary for the work of God to be completed (as they fulfilled prophecy), they were not the chief mission of His life.

Instead, what Jesus chose to focus on was the relationship He had developed with His disciples. His relationship with 12 men.

So you're saying that the greatest thing He accomplished was pouring into 12, twelve, men? That's it? Even more so, He told them to go out into the world and to make disciples? What about all those huge crowds He spoke to? Isn't that far greater?

I'm learning that, yes, absolutely, those are astounding and necessary tasks. Speaking to crowds can plant so many seeds for Christ that are sure to one day grow to full fruit-producing trees of righteousness! But there's no denying that true, true, disciples of Christ are made amongst those few lives we choose to pour into.

Think about your own life. Who had the greatest impact? The guest speaker you listened to? Or the person you walk with daily who is constantly speaking into your life? There's no denying a big speaker can have a profound impact. I've experienced that. The truth is, however, I have most been impacted—and sought to live most like—the person who was most involved in my life.

So what does that mean for us? If we want to truly have an impact on this world for Christ, we are called to, "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Disciples are people we truly invest in. That we spend time loving, serving, teaching, instructing. We don't have to be charismatic or smart with our words. We don't need power or prestige. We just need a heart willing to genuinely love the person next to us.

And once you have invested so deeply in that person's life, your teachings will run deep and, just like the disciples, they will be convicted to take your teachings about Christ to the world. That is true discipleship.

As you go about your day, be on the lookout for who God has placed in your life to disciple. Just like Jesus, He didn't wait for the disciples to come to Him. Instead, He went to the disciples. He sought them out! So we should follow His lead and seek out our disciples.

Choosing to invest in a few people around us might just be one of the most powerful how's for the unleashing of spiritual power through our lives.

Jesus's life was proof of this.