Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Riding the Next Wave of God

Just as I was falling asleep last night I saw a picture of a man on a surf board triumphantly riding in on a gigantic wave as it rushed to reach the shore. I knew that God was wanting to say something to me and then remembered that we have been hearing for years of the coming “wave” of God’s glory that will sweep the earth. In the midst of this realization two questions emerged in my thoughts, “Will I be ready when He comes?” and “Will I be able to ride the wave?”


In response to the questions of my heart, I felt I heard the Lord say, “position is everything”. Just as the skilled surfer knows exactly when to enter the wave and how to stay atop the wave, God is preparing His people to have the capacity to be able to “ride the wave” of His Glory when He comes. Much of this preparation process involves the “position” of the heart. God takes us through a baptism of fire that comes powerfully to burn out everything that doesn’t look like Jesus. This process can be humbling and quite painful at times, but the results will yield the purest of gold. God is doing surgery on our hearts to prepare us to have the capacity to receive and experience all that He wants to do in and through us. This is the time to repent of stubbornness and pride and yield humbly to the surgeon’s skillful hands.


The second thing I heard the Lord say was, “Don’t look back”. A wise surfer can not afford for one second to turn his head and look behind. All of his energy and concentration is needed for what lies ahead. Just as Paul said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”, I felt an urgency in my Spirit that it is absolutely imperative that we be healed of the wounds, hurts and failures of the past. Those things would be like heavy weights that slow us down and even cause us to sink. Our wounds affect how we see ourselves and how we see God. We are able to “forget what is behind” as we walk in forgiveness and learn to let His healing come in to replace the lies we have believed with His truth.


There may be some who turn to look at the successes and methods of the past and this can be just as disastrous as it takes their eyes off the coming wave. Every ounce of our being needs to be focused on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith. He is coming to do a new thing, and it will be those who remain focused on Him, who are alert and sensitive to His voice and leading, who are able to go with the flow of His Spirit in the days that lie ahead. He alone will infuse us with what it takes to ride the wave.


I believe many will be swept along to some extent in this coming wave of God's glory. Those who have cultivated a heart that is yielded to the King, and beats with a passion for His Kingdom, will ride the wave and do great exploits in the name of the King. Their eyes will be focused on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their Faith, and their hearts will be fully His.


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