Strength to take the land

Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed.

For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe,

 even if you were told. Habakkuk 1: 5

I woke up this morning with the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves by Verdi from his opera Nabucco running through my mind. I didn’t know anything about this opera, I just knew the tune. The opera is based on the Hebrews in exile in Assyria singing with longing for their homeland, similar to Psalm 137. 

It then occurred to me that when God led the Children of Israel out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery, they had no idea what the Promised Land was like. No one had ever seen it, not even Moses. They had no vision. Even when the spies returned after their expedition to scout out the land, 10 of them saw the Promised Land through the eyes of slaves, not as Children of Israel. It was all about identity. 

They didn’t see God as the covenant keeping God of Abraham or themselves as his people. Despite God having released them from slavery through mighty miracles, they didn’t see themselves as holy and dearly loved, a treasured possession. They were just worthless slaves.

That leads me to ask, how do we look at our situations? Through the eyes of slaves to sin or as children of God with an inheritance to take hold of? 

This last year has shown us that like the Children of Israel, none of us have been this way before. None of us have endured a pandemic and none of us really know what the way ahead looks like.  We can look at it as slaves bound by fear and insecurity believing we are never going to be free of the virus, or we can look with eyes of faith as children of God. He is laying before us an opportunity, never given to previous generations to press into something of God that will be so spectacular we wouldn’t believe it, even if we were told. 

Bill Johnson says that if Israel had walked into the Promised Land a few weeks after leaving Egypt, they would not have had the maturity to maintain the inheritance. The Lord will put us in situations so we have to push through to build spiritual strength, trust and faith in God so when the answers to our prayers and longings are released, we have the maturity to give all glory to God. 

These last 13 months have been a time for perseverance, patient endurance and seeking God.  Many of us have had time and space to build up our spiritual muscles, to learn to trust God in the wilderness for provision and presence. This will mean when we stand on the edge of our promised land, we will have faith and courage to cross over and a deep trust in God believing him to see souls saved, strongholds demolished and our nations turn to Jesus. 

The prize is enormous but if we have used the last year to fix our gaze upon Jesus, to know his voice, to hear his strategies, to catch the whisper of heaven and see a glimpse of his glory, we will have the maturity to give all glory to God when his sovereign power sweeps our nations. 

We know God wants to save our nations but all glory must go to him. When thousands are saved, blind eyes opened, deaf ears unstopped, the lame walking all that must be heard is an anthem of praise, thanksgiving and adoration to our God from his amazed, awe-struck, blood-bought children, overwhelmed by his goodness and love. 

Presence in the days ahead

God tests our hearts in Life’s transitional moments, because the priorities we set at gear-change times can fix our course for years to come. Peter Grieg Dirty Glory

There is no doubt that this season of virus and lockdown has been a gear-change moment for all of us. Most of us have had the opportunity to re-evaluate our priorities, what and how we spend our time and with whom. Many Christians have taken the opportunity to reconnect with God in fresh ways. This has been an occasion of spiritual encounter and as we have experienced his presence, it has been wonderfully re-invigorating.

The question now is ‘What next?’ As lockdown eases and we start life in our new normal with different working practices, less travel, children starting to return to school, meeting family and friends again, how are these fresh experiences of God, these spiritual encounters and his presence going to affect us? We have two choices I believe. Settle or move on.

When Peter and John were immersed in the glory of the Transfiguration, they wanted to settle and build shelters for everyone. But Jesus had a calling to fulfil. He had not finished his teaching ministry, let alone his ultimate destination of the cross and resurrection. Refreshed he moved on back down the mountain and into his destiny.

We can take our new normal and add the presence of God to it, or we can make the presence of God the priority. I want the presence of God to lead me and shape the days ahead.

Gear change moments are incredibly important. The decisions and practices we establish in this new era, will dictate how life pans out in the future. This may feel like a wonderful new normal, less travel, opportunities for more family and friends time but without the presence of Jesus going before us, they will soon feel just as faded and jaded as the old times. Of course you may be in the midst of great uncertainty with your work, huge stresses with your family but how much more do we need to seek the presence of Jesus to carry us in the insecurities of the days ahead?

As Joshua and the Israelites stood on the banks of the River Jordan ready to move into the Promised Land, this is what happened.

² After three days the officers went throughout the camp, ³ giving orders to the people: ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. ⁴ Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. Joshua 3: 2 – 4

None of us have been this way before. We’ve never experienced a virus like this. We’ve never been confined to our homes for weeks before and we’ve come out of this season unsure of the way ahead. However the one thing we must do is follow the presence. God will guide us.

This is the time to discern God’s voice. I believe he is calling each of us into his new normal and that may require stepping out of the boat onto the water.  Not squeezing God into our changed schedules but making God the destination.

Moses got it. Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” Exodus 33: 15 - 18

You see what distinguishes us from everyone else is not going to church, having cleaner lips, spending our money better, being kinder. It is God’s presence. As we seek God for his presence it will overflow into every area of our lives, touching all those we come into contact with.

However like Moses, let us also be people who having experienced his presence now say ‘Show me your glory.’

Reset for Righteousness

On the eve of Pentecost, as we consider the unusual season that we have found ourselves in, one of the many things that the prophetic voices have been saying is that God is calling this a time of reset and more than that, a reset for righteousness.

This virus and the lockdown that has followed has given not only society but also Christians and the church the opportunity to re-evaluate every aspect of life.  The world has much to say about the changes that have occurred in working practices, family life, shopping, eating, entertainment and exercise and my prayer is that society will be irrevocably changed for the better.  Selfishness has taken the back seat into a far greater care for one another and thankfulness for some of our institutions like NHS and teachers. There are also the bigger benefits of cleaner air, less noise from traffic and planes, and an appreciation for nature.  Exercise is one area that has grown exponentially and I love seeing families out together walking, running or cycling and I pray this will continue into the days ahead. 

The Church too and our lives as Christians have also been greatly impacted. Not many had heard of Zoom three months ago. We are now all experts at joining church, small groups and prayer meetings online. The vast array of Christian material that is available online has meant access and often the time to feast on this banquet.

But what does reset for righteousness mean for us individually as Christians?  This is the time to re-evaluate our priorities. Some may be busier than before but for many we now have quality time to spend each day with the Lord which helps to really refresh our relationship with God. Everyone with children has now experienced the reality of spending 24/7 with their family. This can cause stresses and strains but I have been so blessed to hear of families spending time together praying or reading the Word as well as enjoying family life. This has also been a time of prioritising and building relationships. We may not be able to meet our extended family, friends or church face to face but we can still chat, eat and pray together online.

One of the phenomenal blessing to the nation

 This is a time to develop thankfulness - for technology, for our church family, for the NHS, for the beauty of nature, things we may just not have had time or energy to appreciate fully before.

This is not the time to be looking back with longing to how things were. As God says in Isaiah 43: 18 – 19

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

This is a second opportunity to do things right – to save the planet from our selfish disregard for nature and the environment, to care for others, to be less selfish and as Christians it is the perfect time to be preparing for the coming era by making sure we have oil in our lamps, that our relationship with God is fresh and vibrant, that we have dug deep into the Word and have been encouraged, instructed and filled afresh by the Holy Spirit.

There is going to be a new look for this planet, a new look for society and a new look for the Church. Are we getting ready for this new era? Are we standing ready to play our role? Have we evaluated our lives letting the old habits that produced so many stresses drop away and letting the new way of thinking, of life, of godliness rise up? Let’s hit the reset and be ready.