“Not connected to power. Updates did not install.” I checked the updates on my smartwatch to see what had happened while I slept, and this was the first one. I had forgotten there was an operating system update and wore the watch to bed like usual. Some people charge their watches overnight, but I’m one of those geeks who are interested in how long I spent in REM sleep and what my average heart rate was overnight. But my watch will not install updates if it’s not on the charger.

I set a reminder to keep the watch on charge the following night to correct the mistake and went on about my day. But the wording of that reminder stuck with me. All day.

Not connected to power. Updates did not install.

I think about the power levels on my electronic devices often. When I take my phone off the charger in the morning, I check to see if it got a full charge. I check the watch and the tablet or laptop I carry with me. When I walk out the door in the morning, I check that everything is charged. And I take chargers with me, and a power bank. Just in case, you know. I hate to get the warning “device will shut down unless connected to power.” It’s never convenient to stop what I’m doing and plug in. But if the battery is dead, the device is useless. 

Plugged-in to God

But that warning about not being connected to power touched a sore spot in my spirit. Am I as careful to be “plugged in” to God as I am to be “connected” in a worldly sense? Paul says we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I’m not a Greek scholar, but I understand that the verb “be filled” is best translated “keep on being filled with the Spirit”. Being filled with the Spirit isn’t a “one and done” experience.  It can be a daily occurrence.  And since it is a command, it is something that I have an active part in. I don’t have to be commanded or reminded to breathe. It happens without my conscious effort. But I need to be reminded to exercise. That requires an act of my will.

Charging my spiritual battery

I would never leave the house with my phone uncharged. But I do go out into the world with my spiritual battery not at full power. I like to wake up slowly, sip a cup of coffee, leisurely prepare for what I have planned for the day. It’s easy for me to lose track of time. Too often, I’m running out the door juggling keys and coffee and supplies for the day having done little to connect with God.

Oh, sure, I read a short devotion and a chapter or two of scripture, and rush through a prayer asking God to bless my day. I know my day always goes better when I take time to sit in God’s presence, to meditate on His words, to ask Him to speak to my spirit.

Low Power Mode

My phone has a low power mode when the battery dips below 20 percent capacity. When that happens, I get the bare minimum from the phone until I’m able to charge it. The display doesn’t light up. I don’t get most of the notifications that I want. Siri doesn’t work. My phone goes into survival mode.

I have lived a lot of my Christian life in low power mode. It’s easy to slip into that kind of lifestyle. Soon enough, I don’t even remember what full power felt like. The light that I’m showing to the world gets dim. I don’t hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit. I look and like everyone else I’m around.

We don’t have to be “un-connected to power”

We hear a lot about revival in Christian churches these days. Don’t get me wrong. I have followed the spiritual outpouring at Asbury University with growing excitement in my heart. It is encouraging to hear that thousands of young people are becoming serious followers of Christ. But when we spend hours praying for revival, I think we miss the point.

Revival isn’t just an unending prayer meeting in Wilmore, Kentucky. I experience revival when I realize that I’m no longer connected to power, that I’m empty and trying to do things on my own, and I ask God to fill me. Revival comes when I come to the end of myself and connect with the Spirit of God. Revival is when God updates my operating system.

How can I make sure to avoid low power mode? 

1. Turn off some of the noise around you. God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice. (IKings 19:12) Isaiah says us that we will hear a voice from behind us saying, “here is the way. Walk in it.” (Isaiah 40:21) I want to hear that voice. Take out your earbuds. Turn off the podcasts and music for a while. What you hear may surprise you.
2. Make time for God. Put it on your calendar. Make it an unbreakable appointment. And don’t feel like you have to schedule every moment of your time with God. A lot of us read through the Bible every year, so we check off the boxes so we can say we’ve read God’s Word. But have we taken time to hear from Him? As I am typing these words my dogs are nearby. The smaller one loves to snuggle against me anytime I sit down. The other is napping at my feet. They’re comfortable just being with me. Can I say the same of my relationship with God?

3. Check in with God throughout the day. Prayer is a conversation. It isn’t a bunch of set words that we say at set times. When you face a decision, take time to ask God what to choose. You don’t have to duck out of a meeting and meditate for an hour to hear from Him. He’s there. The false prophets of Elijah’s day made a huge scene to get their god’s attention. They danced and begged and cut themselves to no avail. But Elijah prayed a simple prayer. It probably took less than a minute. I imagine the people gathered there leaned in to make out every word. And fire fell, not because of Elijah’s eloquence. Fire fell because Elijah knew God. He knew pray. James says that Elijah was no different from any of us.

4. Be quick to respond to the Holy Spirit’s correction. We all sin. The best response to sin is to admit it, repent of it, and move on. One of the main reasons we need to install updates on devices is to correct bugs and security breaches. When I spend time with God, He makes me aware of faulty thinking that can lead to sin and opens doors that allow the enemy to get his foot into my thought life.

5. Spend time with other people who know God. System updates make it easier for devices to communicate with each other. The writer of Hebrews tells us to provoke one another to good works, and to not avoid meeting together so that we can encourage one another. It is easier to be strong against opposition when you don’t have to go it alone.

I want to take better care of my spirit than I do of my phone. I don’t want to run on partial power when I can have the power that raised Jesus from the dead in my life. Connected to power. That’s the only way to follow Jesus.

Lisa Crowe

Lisa recently retired from the State of NC where she served families of children with disabilities, and now spends her time writing and serving missionaries as Partner Services Advocate for MAP Global, an international mission sending agency. She serves as Prayer Team Director for her local church and leads a Ladies Bible Study. Lisa loves to travel, read, and hike the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. She shares her Canton NC home with her two dogs Daisy and Bernie. You can connect with Lisa on Facebook or Instagram where she microblogs.

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