What it comes down to is a whole lot of shaking.
Shaking in the world in ways we have never seen before. Evil so clearly at work... massacres, plagues, famines, earthquakes, division, corruption, nations fighting nations, families fighting families, and the line between right and wrong almost completely removed.
Shaking in the Church... literally churches that seemingly stood for truth falling to pieces. Corruption and pride in the hearts of men and the working of the enemy equals division, dissension, and a structure that was supposed to represent God falling like a sandcastle washed away by the waves. But also a good shaking in that people are starting to question the reason we're doing things the way we do them. There's some shaking that opens eyes and hearts and helps us to see the Church in light of God. What are we doing? Oh, may we have such an honest and vulnerable heart before God! Are we walking in light of Him? Is what we're doing unto Him or unto our own idea of what His work is? Are we just doing what we've always done? Are we that living sacrifice before Him? If not... WHAT is it that we're doing?! For if it's not by faith and it's not in His light and if it's not led by His spirit, It is VANITY!
Shaking in my own heart. So much light and revelation...the Lord patiently showing me who I really am in light of Him. Oh man...so much junk; pride, insecurity, self-centeredness, fear, unbelief, worry, and a whole lot of stubbornness. This list could go on and on. But I've just seen how the Lord meets me in each and every one of these things. After supplying light though, His grace just floods in like a dam breaking. Followed by freedom :). Hallelujah! Oh how precious is the blood of the Lamb.
And He has caused me to start to understand the importance of heeding His voice above any other. I've gotten a lot of hard questions asked of me this summer. Questions that at the time I had a hard time answering. Questions I realized I had a hard time answering because I wasn't walking fully in the Lord's light and in the purpose that the Lord had called me into. I wasn't so honest with the Lord about my life and struggles and my inability to do all of the tasks at hand, never mind deal with my own issues before the Lord.
I feel like I've been called to lay a lot of things down again and re-evaluate them before the Lord and see what His Word is for each of them. It seems for myself and so many brothers and sisters in the body, and for Church service and with stuff going on in this nation and in the world, it feels like everything's shifting and changing. What it's gonna look like in the future... I have not the slightest clue. But I feel like the Lord is saying to His Church...WAKE UP! Hallelujah, has this not been our prayer? That the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened?
May the Lord be our Vision in the time we have... for who knows what tomorrow brings. May we redeem the time and Love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. He, the God on the Universe and beyond who knows our greatest sin and the depravity of humankind, desires still to dwell with us and abide in us!! Does this amazing truth not stir within us a great desire to bow, surrender, and love the Lord our God?!
Hallelujah! Our Lord lives and is working and His love never fails!
And to show His grace even more... He painted the sky tonight with soft pastels. Our God is good. :)
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