Nobody enjoys power-hungry people. For the power hungry, everything and everybody are means to ends. They are driven by a desire to control their environment and everybody in it. They don't do well with authority. They can't be trusted. And they usually hurt the people closest to them.

     As you read the preceding paragraphs, did anyone come to mind? Your boss? Your father? A character in a movie? A business executive? It is easy to sit back and shake our heads disapprovingly at the power-hungry people of the world. But I believe they have a counterpart in the church. I'm not talking about power-hungry pastors and elders. I'm referring to believers who are obsessed with the desire to harness the power of the Holy Spirit.

     On the surface, that may not sound like such a bad thing. After all, didn't Jesus send the Holy Spirit to empower believers? Shouldn't we learn how to activate His power within us? Wouldn't we be poor stewards to allow all of that power to lie dormant within us? Wouldn't we be better off if we could tap into the inexhaustible power of God?

     Questions such as these have a tendency to make us discontent. They make us think we are missing something; something that God has made more available to us than we are taking advantage of. If you are not careful, these questions will send you searching for the wrong thing—in the wrong places.
     In my experience I have found that people who talk repeatedly about activating or tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit talk very little about personal holiness. Their emphasis is usually spectacular spiritual things such as healing, miracles, or tongues. There is something conspicuously self-centered about it. The Holy Spirit is treated like an errand boy rather than holy God.

     CAUTION: Stay clear of any teacher, preacher, or anyone else who encourages you to do something, read something, or say something to harness the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's power cannot be harnessed. His power cannot be used to accomplish anything other than the Father's will. He is not a candy dispenser. He is not a vending machine. He is not a genie waiting for someone to rub His lamp the right way. He is holy God.

     People who are always looking for a way to direct or control the power of the Holy Spirit are confused. The Holy Spirit was sent to control us! He is not available to do our bidding. He is looking for surrendered believers to do His. Notice what Jesus said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

     The power of the Holy Spirit was given for a very specific purpose—to enable us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. The way some people talk about the power of the Holy Spirit you would think it was given to make life easier for us. If I read my Bible correctly, life got worse for those who received the power on that day. Most, if not all, of them were murdered or executed! If I am evaluating my experience correctly, it would be a much easier life if I didn't have to be a witness.

     The Holy Spirit manifests His power in whatever way He deems necessary to enable believers to be effective witnesses for Christ. I have found Him to be very flexible in form but never in focus. He is out to accomplish one thing and one thing only. That being the case, those who are persuaded of His cause can expect to see the power of the Holy Spirit manifested through their lives. And those who are not will not. We cannot force His hand—not with faith, not with prayer, not with anything. He is God. We would do well to stop trying to harness His power and, instead, focus on allowing it to harness us.