Why Real Power Doesn't Roar

When I think about how people expected the Messiah to show up, it reminds me of what we still expect from power today. In our world, we tend to picture the extroverted, power hungry, spotlight-driven, blinged-out billionaire who is loud, polished, and impossible to ignore. The kind of force that takes over a room and distracts with confidence.

But real power has always looked very different. It looks like composure. It looks like the introverted, steady, reflective leader with strong character, integrity, and reliability. The kind of person whose presence is magnetic not because they perform, but because they are grounded. The kind of leader who embodies executive presence without ever raising their voice.

So when Jesus stepped onto the scene quiet, humble, poor, and entirely unlike the image they had built in their minds, many dismissed Him before they ever listened. He did not meet their expectations, so they assumed He could not possibly be the One.

They were watching for a king who would crush their enemies.
God sent a Redeemer who would carry a cross.

And the truth is, we still do this today.

We Still Misread Power

So many of us still expect real spiritual power to feel dramatic. Loud moments of clarity. Big signs. Something impossible to miss.And sometimes God does move like that. But most of the time, He moves in ways that are easy to step over.

A quiet thought that suddenly makes sense. A gentle tug in your heart.
A subtle shift in your desire or perspective. And because it does not feel large or spectacular, we often second-guess it. Was that really God, or was that just me?
Shouldn’t His guidance feel stronger? Shouldn’t His presence feel more intense?

But the movements of the Spirit rarely roar.
They sound like peace.
They feel like steadiness.
They show up as clarity about the next thing you need to do.

And because they do not match what we pictured, we often miss the very power we are praying for.

Why This Matters for the Shift from Self-Reliance to Spirit-Reliance

We live in a culture that celebrates noise and performance.
Bigger. Louder. More impressive.

So of course people assume that spiritual power should look the same.

But the Spirit does not operate under the rules of this world.

He strengthens you from the inside out.
He brings alignment before action.
He forms courage through trust, not pressure.
He provides clarity through peace, not panic.

When you rely on yourself, life gets heavier.
When you rely on the Spirit, life gets clearer, lighter, and much more grounded.

This is the difference between chasing power and receiving it.

The Messiah They Rejected, and the Power We Miss

Many missed Jesus because they were watching for a warrior-king.
People today miss the Spirit because they are waiting for something dramatic.

They look for God in the storm, but He often speaks in the whisper.
They want a sign in the sky, but He gives a quiet sense of direction.
They ask for lightning, and He gives a nudge.

The very guidance they need is already present, but it does not look like what they imagined.
It looks like humility, clarity, conviction, or an unexpected moment of peace.

Spirit-Reliance Needs a Different Kind of Expectation

To live Spirit-led is to understand that:

• God often guides through gentle nudges.
• His direction typically begins with insight, not spectacle.
• His strength feels like steadiness, not force.
• His correction feels like conviction, not shame.
• His presence feels like peace, not pressure.

These are easy to overlook if you are waiting for something dramatic. But they are the beginning of transformation.

When you start trusting these quiet movements, everything opens.

Your anxiety softens.
Your decisions become clearer.
Your confidence steadies.
Your creativity comes back.
Your leadership sharpens.
Your faith becomes something you live with every breath, not something you try to remember on the hard days.

This is the shift that truly changes everything.

A Final Reflection

The world pushes you to perform.
God invites you to rest in Him.

The world praises a type of strength that wears people out.
God grows the kind of strength that lasts.

The world tells you to rely on yourself.
God teaches you to rely on the Spirit.

The same quiet Messiah people overlooked is the same source of power we often overlook today. The life we long for becomes possible the moment we finally stop expecting God to roar and start paying attention to the whisper.

If This Message Spoke to You

This week on The Holy Coach Podcast, I am diving deeper into this exact shift from self-reliance to Spirit-reliance. The episode is titled “The Shift that Changes Everything,” and it will meet you right where you are if you have ever felt the weight of doing everything on your own.

We explore how real spiritual power actually works, why it often arrives quietly, and how to recognize the guidance you may have been missing.

You can listen now on your favorite podcast platform.

If you are longing for more clarity, confidence, and inner steadiness, this episode will help you take the next step.

Your Coach,
Michelle

Michelle Burns

Catholic Life and Leadership Coach

Host of the Holy Coach Podcast

www.burnscoach.com