Word of Encouragement

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9

When I was a teenager, growing in my relationship with God, all I wanted was to do something “big” for Him. I wanted to change the world. Part of this desire was the overflow of a sincere love for the Lord, but part of it was the response to the language that was all around me—the need to see a huge move of God, the call to lay down your life and do something great for the kingdom, the urgency to make a difference.

Earlier this year, I listened to a message in which Chuck Pierce declared that 2015 would be “a year of your testimony exploding.” Scripture reveals the overcoming force inherent in our testimonies, so a prophetic word indicating that this is a season of power for these professions serves only to intensify their potential impact. Acting much like a magnifying glass, this declaration attracts and amplifies what God can do through testimony.

If we are going to understand how to tap into the destiny of God for our lives, it is crucial to be able to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He makes a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. God’s prayer warriors should be flexible for change as the Lord positions His army across the nations.

Before you watch the news or search the internet, or maybe just before you begin your day-to-day routines, it might be good to reflect on Paul’s words at the end of Romans 12. It is easy to be weighed down and discouraged by the struggles and very real horrors in the world. We can be paralyzed—so unsure of where to start or how to even address problems so big that we end up not doing much of anything.

About ten years ago, I led a small group of teenagers on a ministry trip to Switzerland. We were there to work behind the scenes of a youth camp—helping with meals, service preparations and other tasks in order to free the leaders up for more interaction with their students.

All of heaven and earth cannot help but worship. It is the instinctive response and gut-reaction to beholding the glory of God. And some day, in heaven, worship will be our natural impulse because it is woven into the atmosphere of eternity. But while we are on earth, we have a unique opportunity to offer something we won’t be able to offer in heaven—the deliberate choice to worship, especially from a place of sacrifice.

This morning, as I was praying, I had a vision, and in this vision, I saw a beautiful river and the body of Christ. And then I saw rapids, and it got bad. I mean, it was fast, and it was just like everywhere you looked, you didn’t know if you could stay in control; you felt out of control. You felt like everything was rocky; you didn’t know what to do.

In almost any teaching or discussion about worship you can find, you will hear some variation of this statement: Worship isn’t just the songs we sing at church on Sundays; it’s a lifestyle. But what we do in our church services is so ingrained in us that it can be difficult to articulate more specifically what it would look like to actually live a life of worship.