A new thing

God is doing a new thing in the world today, and yet it is not new at all. The healings and miracles that are being reported in Lakeland, Florida, and other places around the world have been happening since the days that Jesus walked the earth, but not too frequently in recent years here in the United States. What is new about this is that they are happening here not through the ministry of any one person. While one man has been used by God as the ignition for this move, people report repeatedly that they have been healed while sitting in the audience or watching across the world on TV or the Internet, sometimes while watching a recording, not even the live broadcast. It is God who is doing the healing, and all the credit belongs to him alone.

There is a hunger that is being stirred up in the hearts of people throughout the world to see God move in their own homes and towns in power. The amazing thing is it is happening; meetings similar to those in Lakeland are cropping up in countries around the world England, Ireland, Africa, Iceland, Canada, and many states here in the U.S. to name a few. All who are hungry are invited by God to come and eat; all who are thirsty, come and drink deeply of the water of life, this fresh wine that he is pouring out.

I am convinced that God is even hungrier for this than we are, however. His heart has always been to be with his people and to pour out his spirit on us; he longs to not just visit us but to dwell with us. All it takes is for us to take the smallest step in his direction, and he will run to meet us. Once you have experienced the presence of God, nothing else will do. If we will seek him, God promises that we will find him. He says that if we ask, he will answer; if we knock, he will open the door to us. It may not be instantly, but God is faithful to answer the cry of the heart of all those who truly want to know him.

Yes, God is doing a new thing today, but he has not changed at all. He is the same God who sent his son, Jesus, to make it possible for us to have a relationship with him in spite of our failures. God invites us to come and meet with him, to know him in a deeper way than we ever thought possible. He is not distant and aloof but near to all who will come to him. Come, drink at his well and be satisfied with what he offers.

May 11, 2008