I recently watched the film Rogue 1 and I was struck by the phrase that was constantly repeated by Chirrut Imwe:
‘I am one with the Force,
and the Force is with me’
Although he is blind, Chirrut is able to do amazing and almost impossible things such as fighting off numerous attackers and instinctively knowing what to do as he repeats this phrase over and over (there is a Youtube clip with a clip showing this at the end of this post). I was especially struck by the way that he repeats the phrase over and over to focus himself on the power on which he was depending.
As I thought about this, I was reminded of our need to rely on the Holy Spirit. We all know that without God’s presence that we are relatively powerless but that doesn’t stop us trying to cope in our own strength sometimes!
As I continued to consider this, I found it strange that this thought hadn’t occurred to me when I had watched the film previously and then it stuck me that I had had a tough few days and I was feeling tired, discouraged and under pressure. It feels ironic that in those moments of feeling fairly low that I had become more receptive to the reminder that I need to rely on God’s strength rather than trying to cope alone but this was also Paul’s experience:
8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. 10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety. (2 Corinthians 1)
When life is a struggle, we are especially reminded of our need to depend on God but it’s my hope and prayer that we might all learn to rely on God more consistently. After all, we are one with Him and that he is with us!
To consider:
- Would things be different if we spent our life repeating the phrase ‘I am one with Christ and he is with me?’
- In what ways can we maintain our focus on Christ, depending on his Holy Spirit to empower us rather than walking along with our limited vision?
- Do we need to repent of our attitude of feeling that we are alone and with limited power?
Picture Credit: https://www.magicalquote.com/moviequotes/im-one-with-the-force-and-the-force-is-with-me/
