Pandemic Chronicles #4- God is on the Move

I have always wanted to read The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and what better time to do so than during a pandemic!

I thoroughly enjoyed the books and who knew that those books could minister in such a powerful way to me.

There was one part in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe that stood out to me.  Just a short background, The Witch has imposed a Winter Season on the Land of Narnia and the great King Aslan (the Christ figure in the story) is the one with the power to stop her.

At one point during the story one of the characters says to another: 

"They say Aslan is on the move" 

Aslan was indeed on the move and even though they didn't see it then.  He was on the move and he was on his way to restore the land of Narnia.

I was ready to shout right then and there.  I won't spoil anymore of the story if you haven't read it but I kept repeating to myself, "God is on the move"

It's Winter

Much of the certainty we have been sold on has been exposed as myth during this pandemic.  

Jobs disappeared overnight, people who never thought they would need a food bank are standing in line because they don't know where their next meals are coming from, and all of the things we used to distract ourselves were taken away.

It's winter.

Even people we thought who had it all together and were doing well learned it could all be gone just like *that* and the only thing that's certain is uncertainty.

Yet God is on the Move

Even in the church world it is winter in many places. 

One of the most alarming stories is about a large number of leaders dying in the Church of God in Christ leaving behind heartbroken families and ministries.

Churches have had to get in position and get creative in how they minister to the flock. Gone are our regularly scheduled meetings and we've been forced to stay connected through technology.  

Yet God is on the move

There have been rumblings about a need to return to much more substantive teaching involving repentance and not the same old "It's all about me and what I want" sermons that go viral these days.  Prominent leaders have expressed their dismay about the shallow teaching that doesn't stress obedience and holiness which leads to shallow "believers".

Yet God is on the move

I was in a prayer meeting where the sister so bluntly stated that we shouldn't be asking for revival if we're not willing to contend for it and do what it takes to have that happen.  As she said, God shut down the assembling of the saints in person for a reason. 

I believe it was for pruning purposes. He's Cutting away that which is useless so it can be burned.  He's Cutting away even that which is "good" but unnecessary for more growth.

The key to pruning according to John 15 is to REMAIN in Christ.  It's to live in him.  If we're just doing our own thing and then slapping a Jesus sticker on it that's not going to make it. 

It's winter

Yet God is on the Move

Even in my personal life, I've been doing a lot of questioning and second guessing by asking one of the most unproductive and dangerous questions ever: What if?

What if

What if I'm wasting time on this Jesus stuff and I end up missing out on something much better?

What if this was the wrong decision to go all in on this?

What if I've made it all up?

What if I lose my window to have children?  I'll be in my late late late 30's this August.

What if I was right all along to say that marriage and children wasn't for me and I should stick to focusing on my professional goals?

What if all this is an exercise in futility?

This is what happens when your distractions get taken away and you're left with too much time on your hands!  The enemy finds his way into your brain and you start second guessing.

All I can tell you is that it is a daily struggle to keep taking up my cross and deciding that this is the road and path that I've chosen and I'm determined to keep moving forward to see what the end is going to be.  

At times it looks discouraging and the land is barren....

Yet God is on the Move

Even with all my questioning and impatience because it appears nothing is happening, I can say God is on the Move.

I've been preparing for something for the last year and in this season I see it very clearly that God is on the move.  I'm learning to show up even when I don't want to. I'm learning to show up to do what God has told me to do because as an intercessor, one of my jobs is to discern the spirits in operation and shut the demonic spirits down in the name of Jesus.

It's not glamorous and it can be draining but it's worth it because I refuse to give any real estate to the devil.

My prayer is that I would not grow weary in well doing because the harvest is coming!

God is on the Move...We can't give up!