The Greater Unseen

Did you know a great awakening is taking place in the world? It’s not really reported on any of the news channels. You can read about it here. How long has it been since you’ve heard some good news?

At the same time, unfathomable atrocities against Christians in Syria and other places in the Middle East take my breath away. Danger is imminent at every turn, not to mention loss of shelter, lack of food, and an uncertain future.

“Great evil. GREAT REVIVAL” is the title of a special bulletin from the Voice of the Martyrs.

J.D. King of Charisma magazine wrote that, “Reliable reports suggest more Muslims have become followers of Jesus over the last two decades than in Islam’s combined 1,500-year history.”

Something is happening. 

Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

— Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NASB)

To embrace what God is doing in this day, I am compelled to face the ongoing brutalities squarely. Jesus was born into a violent Roman domination of the land. Herod killed all the baby boys. Think of the outraged fathers, the weeping mothers, and the instability of those times.

It is no different today—for all our education, science, medicine, governments, civil laws, justice systems, and technological advances—evil overtakes some, and carnage remains as a dark stain on the human story.

But Stephen saw into heavenly realms AS he was being stoned. In the same way, I believe that God and his hosts of angels meet people in the nano-second of death—maybe even in the moments prior to death—whether they are beheaded, blown out of the sky on an airplane, or shot down in cold blood. And supernatural comfort also comes for those who remain in great tribulation. These are mysteries, but I believe they are true. What do you believe?

Therefore we do not lose heart,

But though our outer man is decaying,

Yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us

An eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

While we look not at the things which are seen,

But at the things which are not seen;

For the things which are seen are temporal,

But the things which are not seen are eternal. 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NASB)

Are you living in the context of the larger story God is telling? Or are you caught up in the disturbing stories that come with each news cycle?

Does God allow catastrophic tragedies in order to bankrupt the demonic mindsets of false religions?
A Muslim man who had served in the Iraqi army told a church leader, “If this is Islam, I no longer want it.”

Something is happening.

One morning last week, I asked God what He was thinking about in these days. I saw in my mind’s eye a celestial scene with the image of a loom. A weaving came out from the loom made of white silky threads…translucent, ethereal, and luminous. The heavenly cloth looked like a bridal veil, and as I watched, it wrapped around the whole earth. Then the phrase, “Thunderous applause!” interrupted my thoughts.

If you think in symbols, parables, and metaphors this will make sense to you. The greater unseen work of God is moving steadily forward, despite the graphic pictures we see daily on our phones, computers and TVs. God is preparing a Bride for His Son, the Lamb of God.

For I know their works and their thoughts.

The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues.

And they shall come and see My glory.

–Isaiah 66:18 (NASB)

Jesus is coming for His Bride.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”

–Revelations 22:17 (NASB)

And when God says, “I now pronounced them man and wife,” thunderous applause will fill the earth!