What if you could know ahead of time that a movement of God was headed your way?—Or, at the very least, what if you knew there was a strong likelihood that God would move big in the next couple of years in a ‘general area?’
- Would that be good enough for you to sign up?
- Would you get in ‘spiritual shape for it?
- Would you run the other way?
- Would you become a ‘movement critic?’
- Would you get involved only once others did and then, only to point out all the flaws?
- Would you insist that, ‘It would be so much better ‘if you were in control?’
- Would you negotiate with God that he only gets YOU under YOUR terms?
I got all these reactions from experience. I’ve seen them all and many more as a pastor over the last 20 plus years—The good, the bad, and the ugly—and everything in between, like the wasted, the missed opportunities, the regrets, the celebrations, the milestones, and the victories.
My guess is that at least some of you are like me on this one—you want to be a part of the great big things that God is doing in this world. You definitely don’t want to be left on the outside looking in.
And I just gave you one of the biggest keys to seeing that happen (in the paragraph above) that you could ever need. Did you catch it?
“…that God is doing…”
You see, right there, at the very beginning is where so many go astray. They think they have a God thing when what they really have is a ‘me thing.’ And they push and pull and prod the ‘me thing’ until they get the ‘praise, bigness, money, accolades, and respect’ they are sure only comes with a ‘God thing.’ And then they feel empty and can’t understand why.
I’ve seen it happen over and over and over again. It’s never pretty—often tragic.
But then there’s the other side—the authentic connection with a true movement of God. And the way you tell the difference is really pretty easy—as easy as being in the right place at the right time with the right attitude.
Like surfing. We Singletons are at the beach right now. And I did a little surfing growing up so I thought I’d give it a try again.
Wow! Was it tough! At first, I just got tossed around like a lottery ping pong ball! But slowly, after adjusting my poor attitude and waiting for the right kind of wave—I caught it! And it was a blast! Out of 6 million tries, I only road 2 waves all the way in. But they were worth it! Surfing is a unique thrill only possible on the ocean. In other words, I didn’t make the ocean. I didn’t even manufacture the waves–those distinctions belong to God alone. However, if I go to the ocean, wait for the right wave, and have the right attitude–God has made it possible for me to catch one of His awesome waves! So I did.
Twice.
Sure beats the man made stuff.
But that hasn’t stopped man from trying to manufacture wave pools and mechanical, indoor surfing options. If you’ve ever seen them then you know they are a pretty pathetic imitation of the real thing—no big waves, no ocean dynamics, no picking the right wave (what you see is what you get—or rather, what you get is what you get). I prefer what God brings in the real ocean!
For that—there’s simply no substitute.
And for that, there’s extremely good news. An authentic, true movement of God is heading your way in Charlotte right now!