--- id: ff16_dunamis_power_of_time title: FLYINGFREE - Dunamis, the Power of Time category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: crisis-time-to-renewal-power sentiment: Hopeful emotions: - Pastoral - Steady - Encouraging keypoints: - Greek dunamis points to power of time in crisis - Crisis time can be a natural healer that develops power to overcome - Grow by relying on God and the power He brings when we are in need - Uncertainty can become powerful growth and renewal if God takes control - Chapter 16 opens Section II counsel on using crisis time well summary: > Dean opens with Greek dunamis as “power of time” — crisis seasons can heal and grow a person when God is allowed to take control and bring His power. tags: - flying-free - chapter-16 - dunamis - time - crisis - growth - renewal - dean-rush - book-excerpt - section-ii sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 9 entropy: 2 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: flyingfree created: '2010-01-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: FLYINGFREE prefix: FLYINGFREE enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: FLYINGFREE_16_dunamis-power-of-time.md source_kind: book_excerpt proposed_topic: FlyingFree lane: FlyingFree voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: FlyingFree content_status: active date: '2010-01-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md source_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md site_category: Flying Free book_title: Flying Free book_chapter: 16 book_chapter_title: Use Time as Your Friend – Determine Your Goal and Work Toward It source_file: flyingfree/flying-free-16-use-time-as-your-friend.md description: > Chapter 16 opener — Greek dunamis as power of time; crisis as healer and renewal when God takes control. --- # Dunamis, the Power of Time **Author:** Dean Rush **Book:** *Flying Free* · **Chapter 16:** Use Time as Your Friend – Determine Your Goal and Work Toward It **Full book:** [deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md](https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md) ## Context for the Reader This chapter is practical Section II counsel: crisis creates unexpected time, and that time can become a friend. Dean opens with a Greek word and a pastoral claim — before the 9/11 job-loss story — so the reader first receives the frame: uncertainty is not only loss; it can be growth if God controls it. This lesson holds only the *dunamis* opening: power of time, healing, and renewal under God. > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's excerpt** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Dean treats crisis time as a place where God’s power meets human need. Scripture links seasons of trouble with endurance, refining, and God’s strength made known in weakness. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | Time in crisis can heal and develop power to overcome | Suffering produces endurance (Romans 5:3–4); count it joy when trials test faith (James 1:2–4) | | Grow by relying on God and the power He brings in need | My power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9); cast your burden on the Lord (Psalm 55:22) | | Uncertainty becomes growth and renewal if God takes control | Commit your way to the Lord (Psalm 37:5); in all your ways acknowledge Him (Proverbs 3:5–6) | | Power available in the needy season | Strengthened with power through His Spirit (Ephesians 3:16); wait for the Lord who renews strength (Isaiah 40:31) | --- ## Dean's excerpt ### Power of time The Greek word *dunamis* (Δυναμις) means “power of time.” Time involved in a crisis can be a natural healer that develops the inherent power residing within a person to overcome adversity. We can grow in a crisis by relying on God as we experience the power He brings to us when we are in need. The time of uncertainty can become a powerful time for growth and renewal if we allow God to take control. > **Scholar sidebar — Time under God, not empty waiting** > Romans 5:3–4 and James 1:2–4 treat trial-time as formative, not wasted. 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Ephesians 3:16 locate power in God, not self-help grit alone. Dean’s *dunamis* gloss is pastoral framing for the chapter: surrender the calendar of crisis to God before scrambling to fill it. --- ## Takeaways 1. **Name the season.** Crisis brings a kind of time that ordinary schedules never gave you. 2. ***Dunamis* as frame.** Dean opens with power-of-time language, not only job advice. 3. **Healing is possible.** Time involved can develop capacity to overcome. 4. **Rely, don’t only endure.** Growth comes by relying on God and receiving His power in need. 5. **Control handed over.** Uncertainty becomes renewal *if* God is allowed to take control. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? Crisis time can be *dunamis* — power of time — a healer and growth season when you rely on God and let Him take control. ### Why start with a Greek word? To reframe “lost time after disaster” as potentially the most powerful season of the chapter’s counsel. ### Key verses to read with this lesson - **Romans 5:3–4** — Suffering → endurance → character → hope. - **James 1:2–4** — Trials grow endurance. - **2 Corinthians 12:9** — Power in weakness. - **Ephesians 3:16** — Strengthened with power. - **Isaiah 40:31** — Renewed strength for those who wait. - **Proverbs 3:5–6** — Trust; acknowledge Him. ### A simple practice Write one sentence: “This uncertain season could become ___ if God takes control.” Keep it honest; no career plan yet. ### How this feeds Ask Dean Seed material for: *What does Dean mean by dunamis? How can crisis time heal? What does allowing God to take control look like in uncertainty?*