Dear Friends

 

“First this: God created the heavens and earth – all you see, all you don’t see” (Gen 1:1, MSG). In 2020 scientists observed a cosmic explosion they named AT2021lwx. The explosion was measured at 8 billion light years away from us. That is, what we are seeing of it already happened 8 billion years ago. Yet, the light coming from it is 2 trillion times brighter than our sun, and is caused by a fireball that is 100 times the size of our solar system.

How big, exactly, is your God?

Since the start of this decade, we have had a global pandemic, experienced a severe economic downturn and sharp increases in the cost of living. The war in Ukraine threatens global peace, with all the usual side-effects of war. We see and feel the effects of devastating climate events; drought, wildfires, floods, hurricanes. And, especially in the West, we are grappling with intensifying culture wars and the resulting social tensions; contentions about gender identity, racial inequality, the impact of artificial intelligence. 

We are confronted with new challenges every day, and they seem to be coming with increasing frequency and intensity. It is easy, without meaning to, to find ourselves agreeing that things are terrible, they are going to get worse, and ‘only God can help us’. But in this mindset, we are not really expressing confidence in God, we are more like the drowning man throwing up our hands to God as a last resort.

But, how big, exactly, is our God?

In John 14 – 17 as Jesus was preparing for the end of His time on earth, He took care to let his followers (and us) know what to expect; that in the world there would be challenges, and that the evil one would seek to destroy them (and us). But, He said, “I’m not asking that you remove them from the world, but I ask that you guard their hearts from evil” (John 17: 15, TPT). I hate to break it to you, friends, but we’re in this for the long haul. Hallelujah!

In Ephesians, the Holy Spirit, through Paul, expands on this prayer. “I ask… that God make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him… so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life…” (Eph 1:15 – 19, MSG). Discernment is the ability to recognize and identify goodness. At its heart, it means to be able to see things through and from God’s perspective, because He is the source of everything that is good. Paul is praying, in spite of everything else that is going on, that God would help us to see things from His perspective. And as a result, we will be able to move forward in “boundless energy and strength” to do what He would have us do.

It is said that we human beings do not see things as they are, we see things as we are. We frame things based on our own self-perception, beliefs and experiences. But, if our identity is rooted and bound up in Christ, and we understand that we are fully one with Him (1 Cor 12: 12-13), then we can see things through His eyes, from His point of view. If we are seated in Him, then we can see like Him. That’s what He sent the Holy Spirit to help us do. 

And what is His perspective? Well, continuing on in Ephesians 1:20 – 23, He, Jesus, is ‘in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments… He has the final word on everything. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world, the world is peripheral to the church”. Do you start to see it? That massive explosion that I described earlier? He did that. Can you sit with that awhile and see it start to change your thinking? If Christ is in charge, (and He is), if He is running everything (He is, by delegated authority to His body, the church), and if you one with Him (you are) – it changes everything, doesn’t it?

Dear friends, I would like to challenge us today to change our perspective. We are not the weak, downtrodden, irrelevant church. No! We are the church triumphant. Our Lord is risen, and He is building His church, and the gates of hell will never prevail against us (the church). We are not cowering in our bunkers waiting for the trumpet. NO! We are victorious in Him – we ALREADY have the victory. Now. Not in the sweet by and by, but today, in this broken, battered world.

This was always the plan, folks. Be of good cheer brethren, He has overcome the world. Kindly notify your soul that it is commanded to rejoice! Rejoice!! Rejoice!!! I pray that as you read this, the Holy Spirit will speak to you in ways that you recognize, and encourage you in your personal situation. Rejoice, our God reigns, forever. Hallelujah!
 

In Him,