God has placed a groaning in all our hearts that longs for more out of life. There is a whisper that says this is NOT how it is suppose to be (Rom 8:18-25, 2 Cor 5:1-10). I know we all feel it. That is what pushes us forward. It is the reason we choose to get out of bed. We all have a hope deep inside of us that believes that we can make a better future if we are just able to put ourselves in the right position (ie. career, family, hobbies, church).
But what I have realized is that you will always find that groaning wherever you go, wherever you are, even, and especially on the mission field. There is just something wrong with this world. It is all out of balance. We find ourselves living in a world in need of restoration that is at odds with an evil presence that severed the harmony of life.
As Jesus followers we believe that Christ now lives inside of us and we have been mandated to bring light, life, and order just as he did to this earth (Gen 1, Matt 28:18-20). It is our task to bring restoration by literally bringing Heaven to earth now (Matt 7:10). Although, ultimately complete restoration will not happen until Christ returns. We have been chosen to be the lifeline between Heaven and earth. We ARE Kingdom and we therefore bring Kingdom wherever we go.
Over the past week I have found myself in an interesting position. God has called me to the go speak at a revival in a city an hour away from here this weekend. It is kind of a long story. Basically I didn’t want to go to it. One it meant leaving the ministry here, two I am already tired and didn’t want to add anything else to my agenda, and three it is on my birthday – the 14th. After saying no twice viva phone calls, I prayed about it. God told me that he was calling me to go and would give me another chance tomorrow morning to say yes. He said someone would call me again. They did and I said yes. It is a three-day event and I will be there for two of the days with some of my teammates. There should be hundreds of people there. It is kind of a crazy thing but I know God has a birthday present for me so I am excited to see what happens. Please pray for me, for protection against Satan and wisdom with my words. Pray that God’s spirit would move in a mighty way in people’s hearts.
Are you discontent with your life? Do you have a deep desire to live an extraordinary life that is charged with passion? God knows the desires of your heart, he has made plans to prosper you, to give you a hope and a future (Jer 29:11). But how well are you at listening to his voice? Do you take time to? Do you even believe God speaks to you? Because when we seek God out with all are heart, when we turn our ear towards him he speaks (Jer 29:12-14). And God speaks supernaturally to us through visions, dreams, revelations, scripture, people, and anything else he wants. It is by listening and then obeying that we find our lives come fully alive.
I realize the topic of how we hear God and how he speaks is much bigger than I have time for here. If you are interested in learning more of how God directly and personally speaks today I recommend reading:
The Art of Listen Prayer by Seth Barnes. It is a devotional that will daily take you through steps to hear from God.
Surprised by the Voice of God by Jack Deere. A book written from by a pastor who thought God no longer communicated to his people through the Supernatural until God started to with him.
