I’ve been hearing people say this so often lately: “It’s time to claim your power.”  Or, “It’s time to step into your power.”  So what is that exactly?  Do you have a claim ticket, like when you check your coat and ask for it back at the end of the evening?  Or is it something like a circle that you can step in and suddenly be like Wonder Woman or Superman?

Somehow I don’t think so.

Unlike Charlie, who got a golden ticket for a tour of Willy Wonka’s marvelous chocolate factory, I don’t have a claim ticket burning a hole in my pocket.  Nor have I seen a magic power circle, or even a power ring.  Have you?

And what is this power anyway?

We often see images of power as something big.  Bombastic even.  Like a weapon.  Someone who sways millions of people with their words.  A tsunami, tornado, or hurricane.  Something that sweeps in and changes everything around it.

Like the end of the first Indiana Jones movie when the archeologist Rene Belloq opens the Ark of the Covenant.  And God’s power sweeps in and consumes everyone in the vicinity who has their eyes open.  Who dare to look at the glory of God.

When Dorothy and her fellow-seekers get an audience with the great and terrible Oz and are shaking in their boots as soon as he starts talking.

It’s small wonder that we say things like “claim” and “step into” your power, when we think power is like that.  Loud.  Aggressive.  Making everyone around it feel small.  Even insignificant.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, as I’ve had some scary dreams about people who have power over me.  And use it to harm me.  As I’ve talked with some wise people, they are challenging me to think differently about power.  They asked the question, “What if power doesn’t really look like that?”

What if power doesn’t look like that?

What if real power doesn’t look like destruction, intimidation, convincing people to follow them to places they wouldn’t ever normally go?  What if it isn’t physical might?  Or mind control?  What if it’s different?

What if power can actually empower?  What if the more you give it away, the more it also strengthens you?  And me?

Someone told me to think of power like the sun.  It has an unlimited capacity to power everything around it.  It doesn’t shoot at people.  Send them 50 emails a day.  It just shines.  It just is.  And because of the sun, our planet lives.

Now you might say that a battery does that too.  But a battery only has a certain amount of stored energy.  Once that energy is used up, it’s gone.  You have to replace it.

Not so the sun.  It keeps shining.  Its energy never runs out.  That’s real power.  It’s not given to the sun.  It has it by its very nature.  It shines, and its rays radiate out to us.  We share in its power, even when the sun is obscured by clouds.  What a beautiful image of power.  Not aggressive power.  More of a natural power.  The power of presence.

What if you don’t have to be a tornado, and stir up power?

What if you don’t have to be a tsunami, and summon power from the depths of the sea?

What if you don’t have to develop lethal fighting skills?

What if you don’t have to be tough on the outside?  And instead can be tough on the inside?  Resilient?  Know your value in God’s eyes and shine with the light he’s given you?

I really like that kind of power.  The power of wisdom.  Truth. Humility. Gratitude. Service.  The power of love.

You don’t have to claim that or step into it.  It’s already there.  Maybe all you have to do is shine.  May that’s all I have to do too.

And yet, even as I write this, I realize that even shining can feel scary.  What if people don’t like our light?  What if they try to snuff it out?  What if they shoot us down?  Just because we don’t fight with lethal weapons doesn’t mean others don’t.

I don’t have the answer to this question.  I do know it doesn’t feel AS scary to shine like the sun.  To live in the power that comes from God.  That’s part of my nature.  But clearly I’m at least somewhat afraid, since I’m having nightmares about it.

As I continue to meditate on this, I’d love to know what you think.  What does power look like to you?  How willing are you to shine your power?  Do you see it as empowering others as you do so, and even expanding everyone’s power?  I’d love to hear your story in the comments.