People are not without some power and say in what goes on around them and in their own lives. This was by God’s design when He created us.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28)

God created us with the power to have a great effect on this world. We can take care of our planet and the creatures on it or abuse God’s gift, the choice is up to each one of us.
“Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.” (Proverbs 12:10)

More importantly than how we treat this world is how we treat others around us. We have the power to influence them to do right or wrong just as we have the power to do to them.
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”–when you have it with you. Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you.” (Proverbs 3:27-29)

We can live righteously or wickedly and we can serve God or rebel against Him. God made this possible when He created Adam and Eve with freewill and then gave them choice. This choice involved a law between right and wrong. We still have this power today.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

While sin is by choice, we have all chosen the sinful pathway. I had the power to say no each and every time when confronted with temptation, just as you did. It was the same power Adam and Eve had when they chose to sin.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

One of the few times people have no power over something that truly matters is when sin enters their life. The wages for my sin is my spiritual death, and there is nothing we can do to change our condition. Thankfully, God has acted on our behalf by sending His Son to pay the price.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Once again God has put power back into our lives by the gospel’s power to save. Scripture tells us what God did and what we can do to enjoy His salvation. It tells us how to have a saving faith based on conviction and obedience.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

We can actually save ourselves by responding to God’s grace through obedience. In fact, in the very first gospel sermon Peter told the people on Pentecost to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” As he continued to teach he told them to “save yourselves”.
And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:40-41)

Once we become His children, we benefit from a power that is so much better and stronger than what was given in Creation. We now have strength through God to win the battle for our souls. God arms us with weaponry that cannot lose so long as we use it fight the battle.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11)

Our spiritual power is not about self, just as our lives are not about self. God made us powerful beings in the Creation and we use this power every day. As Christians, it is up to us to use the power God has given for good. It we do, then victory will be ours though God’s grace.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:57-58)

Terry Starling