Year of Realization - Day 68: We must be prepared and willing to exercise our authority.

“Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he stretched out his hand against the Jews. Also, concerning the Jews, write as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for a decree which is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.””

‭‭Esther‬ ‭8‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Jesus had been preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the afflicted in a group of thousands. As the day passed, the disciples became concerned about the personal needs of the people.

“Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.” But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” For there were about 5,000 men there. Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Imagine how stymied the disciples must have been when Jesus met their concern with the instruction that they should feed the people. And, as we can see, they saw no way to do what He had instructed. They hadn’t yet learned that if the Lord tells us to do something, He will make sure that it will be done.

“Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One secret to using the authority given us by Jesus Christ is to realize that we are acting on His word, in His authority; we are not trying to assume an authority originating and effectuated by our ability or our circumstances.

At another time, the disciples were asked to deliver a boy tormented by a demon. However, they were unable to do so. When Jesus heard about this He was upset with them.

“Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

After rebuking the disciples, Jesus delivered the boy of the evil spirit. Afterward, the disciples wanted to know why they were not able to cast the demon out.

“When He had gone indoors, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why were we unable to drive it out?” He replied to them, “This kind [of unclean spirit] cannot come out by anything but prayer [to the Father].””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭AMP‬‬

We see that Jesus tells them that they lacked the preparation only prayer (some translations read “prayer and fasting”) can bring. We can only wield the Lord’s authority if we are spiritually prepared to do so.

You see, the power the Lord has delegated to us will do us no good if we are unprepared, unbelieving or unwilling.

For our opening scripture we return to the scripture we considered yesterday.

Yesterday we looked at the fact that something that cannot be revoked must be overpowered. Today we focus on the fact that no amount of granted authority will make a difference if we are unwilling or unprepared to use it.

Esther and Mordecai will use the authority delegated to them by the king. And that will make all the difference. But imagine how differently things might’ve turned out if they had failed to act on the authority given them, rather choosing to continue to beg the king to do something about it.

Our Lord has given us many wonderful promises as well as His Spirit through which we have the authority and ability to receive them. But, we have only ourselves to blame if we fail to receive because of our unwillingness or inability (resulting from lack of preparation) to act on the authority we’ve been given.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#yearofrealization