RUMBLING & SHAKING

Joel C. Rosenburg stated in his blog a few weeks ago ... 

"In the last few weeks, the U.S. stock markets have tanked. Americans have lost more than $2.3 trillion in personal wealth. Our economy has nearly stalled. Some 14 million Americans are out of work. We may be facing a double-dip recession. Our debt is exploding. And Washington is nearly paralyzed with partisan gridlock, even as Iran is building nuclear weapons, Syria and Libya are slaughtering thousands, Egypt has imploded, and Israel is increasingly threatened. Put it simply: Storm clouds are gathering. The winds are picking up. The tectonic plates beneath us are shifting. America is being shaken. Israel and the Middle East are being shaken. The Church is being shaken. Why? Where are we headed? What is God doing? And what is He asking followers of Jesus Christ to do?"  

On Monday, August 22 we all woke up to the current uprising happening in Libya. Tripoli Square has been over taken by rebels and the people chant “FREEDOM!”  More than ever, we have felt the rumblings and shaking of government structures and economic systems.  Systems that once seemed so strong are now dangling on delicate threads threatening to break at any moment.  Never in history have we faced what we are facing today. 

I think many of you would agree there is a hunger in people we have not seen before.  As the unrest becomes more apparent, so does people’s hunger.  I am convinced, the more the fragile the world becomes the more people’s hearts become awakened to God. I would rather of course have people’s awakening come without the crisis, but my prayer has and always will be, “whatever it takes.”  No way, am I pointing a finger or would even attempt to blame current world events on God.  No, this is the power of free will at its finest.  But, I do believe that God can and will use ALL THINGS FOR GOOD.  So, when things get bad, I look for the good. 

Honestly, everywhere I go right now the Lord is bringing people into my path that need an encounter with Him and His love.  I can feel the pursuit of the Father over His sons and daughters and the flow of releasing His heart over people has never been so easy.  People are more open right now than I’ve ever experienced.  Again and again, with tears streaming down their faces people share with me how they have been praying, for the first time in years, asking God if He is real to reveal Himself.  Then here comes the kindness of the Father showing them how much He loves them, speaking to them on such personal levels, things only He would know.  As they share, my tears flow freely too. 

One of my favorite encounters happened two weeks ago. I was on one of my many flights and as the flight began to prepare for takeoff I begin to do my usual routine.  I got out my head- phones, the book I was reading and just as I was opening up my book the Lord said to me, “Close the book and start a conversation with the girl next to you.”  As I did this, I looked at this beautiful, free spirited young woman sitting next to me.  She was in her early twenties with hair in dread-locks and she carried this essence of adventure about her.  Just as she was about to put in her headphones I asked her the classic travel question, “So, are you coming or going?”  

This simple question led into us talking the entire flight about the Lord.  She, being a new Christian, was on her way to spend a week with her sister and take some time to figure out ‘what in the world did she want to do with her life’.  And here I sat next to her.  What a gift I was being given.  As she and I shared our hearts I began to hear the Lord speak things over her.  Things the Lord was calling her to and how He wired her and the way she approached things was of His design.  In the natural flow of conversation I began to share with her what the Lord had showed me about her.  With tears in her eyes she said what I had just shared were the answers to the things she had just been praying about. I know, right there on that plane, this girl fully searching for her purpose, just encountered God.  Her life can never be the same.  When we are led by His spirit the course of one’s history can be changed.   I know on that day, this young girl’s life was being re-written by Him. 

So, I say let the world shake! Let the rumblings take place!  Hearts are being opened and you and I are alive for this time, for this place!  Open your eyes and look around you and share His heart! People are hungry and people are searching and we have the answer—JESUS!  In all this instability people are looking for security.  The only security we have is Jesus Christ.  Share that with someone today. 

By Christa Pitcairn

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