Walking in the power of holiness 

There is a word that many believers have quietly set aside on a high shelf, admired from a distance but rarely taken down and used. That word is holiness. For some it sounds old fashioned, a relic of stern sermons. For others it feels impossible. Yet when I open the Scriptures, I find that holiness is not a museum piece. It is the very atmosphere of heaven, and the Lord is inviting His people to breathe it in and walk in its power today.

Peter writes, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15 to 16). This is a call rooted in the very nature of God. He does not ask us to be holy because He enjoys making life difficult. He calls us to be holy because He is holy, and we are His children. Children carry the likeness of their Father.

I have come to believe that many of us have misunderstood holiness. We have thought of it mainly as separation from things, a long list of what we must avoid. The Spirit does lead us away from sin. But holiness is first and foremost separation unto someone. It is being set apart for the Lord Himself, wholly His, belonging to Him in every part of our lives. When we see it like this, holiness stops being a cage and becomes a covenant of love.

Think of Isaiah in the temple. He saw the Lord high and lifted up, and the seraphim cried out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3). Isaiah did not respond by drawing up a better plan for self-improvement. He fell undone before the presence of God. Then a live coal from the altar touched his lips; his guilt was taken away, and his sin was atoned for. Only then did he hear the voice of the Lord asking, "Whom shall I send?" Holiness began with an encounter, was worked in him by grace, and released him into purpose.

That is the pattern for us too. True holiness is not something we manufacture in our own strength. It flows from being in His presence. The more time we spend gazing upon Jesus, the more we are changed. Paul tells us that "we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Transformation is the fruit of beholding.

Here is where the power comes in. Holiness and power are never meant to be separated. It is no accident that the third person of the Trinity is called the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives in us, and He is holy. When we yield to Him, we find that His holiness carries authority. Darkness has no foothold in a life that is fully surrendered. The enemy looks for open doors and hidden corners where sin is tolerated, but a heart that is set apart for God becomes a place where the Kingdom advances with freedom.

Look at the early church in Acts. Ordinary fishermen and tax collectors prayed, and the place where they met was shaken. Signs and wonders followed them because they were filled with the Holy Spirit and walked in the fear of the Lord. Holiness made room for power, and power confirmed the message of the gospel.

Some reading this may feel a sense of failure. Perhaps you have tried to live a holy life and stumbled again and again. Let me encourage you. Holiness is not perfection achieved overnight. It is a journey of daily surrender. The blood of Jesus has already made you holy in the sight of God. Hebrews tells us that "by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy" (Hebrews 10:14). You are already perfected in Him, and you are being made holy day by day. Both are true. Rest in what He has done, and cooperate with what He is doing.

So how do we walk in this power? We begin by giving the Lord our mornings, seeking His face before we seek anything else. We keep short accounts with Him, quickly confessing sin and receiving His cleansing. We guard what we allow into our eyes, our ears and our hearts. We choose to forgive, because bitterness defiles. We stay close to the Word, for Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). And we invite the Holy Spirit to search us and lead us in the way everlasting.

Beloved, the world around us is crying out for something real. It does not need a church that looks just like it. It needs a people set apart, carrying the fragrance of Christ and the power of His Spirit. Let us take holiness down from that high shelf and wear it again, not as a burden but as a garment of grace. As we do, I believe we will see His glory touch our homes, our churches and our nation in fresh ways.

Be holy, for He is holy. And walk in the power that holiness brings.