Wake Up!

 We are living in such a time of uncertainty... so many unknowns, isolation, and fear. I have gone through so many stages, much like the stages of grief, and I feel like God is preparing me for the final stage: acceptance. Not acceptance of what is going on around me because, trust me, I don't accept it. I don't accept the narrative being fed to me in the media, nor the ever changing government mandates infringing on every freedom known to man. No, I don't accept it. But, what I believe my awesome, powerful, heavenly Father is urging me to accept is His plan in it all. Because, if you know my God, you know He does indeed have a plan...

During my ladies Bible study the other night, I was praying over our group of amazing ladies that I have grown to love like sisters, and the Holy Spirit spoke. God is in control, He always is. Nothing happens without Him knowing. So, why is this happening? I have said it right from the beginning, it's a wake up call. The Holy Spirit revealed something to me that was so profound that it shook me to my core. It's not just a wake up call; it's a wake up call to the church. Jesus is coming, possibly sooner than we thought, and many are not ready. 

I have watched so many people, who claim to be Christ followers, stricken with fear. I don't get it! If we believe God is in control, that He is sovereign, that He is Lord over all... how can we be afraid? I have never in my life been made uncomfortable without God having a purpose. Each time He has made me uncomfortable He has been calling me to someone or something. This is no different. We as believers have  had it so easy. We have been able to worship freely, hold Bible studies, go to church... these freedoms have been slowly slipping away. We are being made uncomfortable for a purpose. So, what is it? 

I believe God is calling His people back to their first love. He's calling the wayward child, the prodigal son, back home. He's calling those who say they love and trust Him to spread the good news to those who don't know it. He's asking us to go outside of ourselves and what we think we know about the "church" and do things differently. The church has become complacent. It's people have grown selfish. It's time to allow this discomfort to force us to change. 

In the last several months I have, like I said, gone through many stages. The longest stage was certainly anger and I found it very difficult to not allow it to control me. But the Lord, who is so gracious, saw me through. Now that I don't see an end to this madness I am forced to take a long look at our world as it is and ask the Father what he wants me to do. In a world of hopelessness He is our only hope. There is no room for complacency. We must see the urgency and do what God has called us to do: to proclaim good news to the poor. To bind up the broken hearted. To proclaim freedom for the captives and freedom to the prisoners. (Isaiah 61:1)  It's time. It's time to look outside of us and look at what God is calling us to do. He hasn't called us to fear. He hasn't called us to sit in church and listen to a nice, feel good sermon. He hasn't called us to complacency. He has called us to act.

So, what are we going to do? With the guidelines closing in on us, literally not allowing people to even meet in their homes, how are we to respond? The Bible tells us to do everything in love. We must love first, but what does love look like? It certainly doesn't look like shutting yourself in your home and waiting for things to blow over because, let's face it, this isn't going anywhere anytime soon. We need to be brave, we need to be bold, and we need to tell people the truth; that there's a God that loves them and wants relationship with them. We need to go beyond ourselves in a world that's all about self and allow the Holy Spirit to move. This isn't the time to be afraid. We really don't have that luxury. There is an urgency right now and I believe that is what we all need to take from this. We don't have the time to sit comfortably in our homes doing the same thing we've always done because He is coming whether we are ready or not. 

This is a wake up call. A wake up call to the Christians who have grown complacent. It's a wake up call to the prodigals that need to leave the slop and come home to their Father. It's a wake up call to the unbeliever who has no hope. It's a wake up call to the one who thinks he's safe but the Father will say "I never knew you; depart from me" Matthew 7:23. Wake up. This isn't about a virus. This is about a loving Father that doesn't want any of us to perish. He's coming, and He's coming soon, and He wants His children to come home with Him. He's giving another chance to His people because He loves us that much. 

Do you hear that? He loves you. He wants you. He's calling you home. He's calling you back to Him. He's calling us all to wake. up.