Lion? Feh.... that's nothing....

"The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power"
Judges 14:6

This verse is referring to the legendary strongman, Samson, and is followed by a demonstration of this power.   Samson was come upon by a young lion, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands.  (um... ew!)  It says it was as easy for him as tearing apart a young goat (um.... ew!) which also sounds pretty difficult to me, but then, the harshness of living in those times eludes me completely...

The Bible tells us many times that the Spirit of the Lord came upon someone, but I was struck by this phrase:  "the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power," and I began to wonder: in what other ways does the Spirit of the Lord come upon people?

For Solomon, the Spirit of Lord came in wisdom.  In 1 Kings 3, God came to Solomon in a dream, and encouraged him to ask for whatever he wanted.  Solomon's request was not for long life, or wealth, but for wisdom to govern with discernment.  This request pleased the Lord.  But truly, Solomon showed he had already been blessed with wisdom enough to know he needed wisdom!  Surely the Spirit of the Lord came upon this man in wisdom and in humility.

The Spirit of the Lord comes in gentleness.  I think of Mary, holding the tiny Baby; her Son and her King.  Every mother holds her first baby, with a certain amount of trepidation, and this could only been magnified by her circumstances.  Both the circumstances physically, of being in a lonely, barren stable, without a mother or a sister to aid her, but also, the spiritual circumstances.  This birth had been prophesied by the angel Gabriel, and now she held the Messiah in her arms.  The King of kings.  Yes, I am sure that Mary was a quiet, humble woman in whom the Spirit of the Lord came in sweet gentleness.

How does the Spirit of the Lord come upon you?  Upon me?  In wisdom?  In gentleness?  In power?

Many times I have prayed for wisdom, and as He promised, it has been given to me.

I have prayed for gentleness ~ as a mother, as a wife, as a teacher ~ and He has given me a vision of the Good Shepherd.

And power?  Well, I've never encountered a goat or a lion, by whom I felt threatened, but He has promised me that I have the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, and to overcome all the power of enemy!  Nothing shall ever harm me!

Rejoice in the wisdom of God; the gentleness of the Good Shepherd; and the power of the Creator; and praise Him that His Spirit comes upon you!

~ "The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; 

His word was on my tongue." ~

2 Samuel 23:2