Passover is over. We stand on the other side of our deliverance (some of us are more “delivered” than others from the quarantine) and ask, “What’s next?”
We have been told by media that things will not be the same and that this is the new normal. They want to tell us what “normal” should be. They want to plan and tell us what to expect in our future. But God’s plans and purposes will prevail (Prov 19:21).
What are God’s plans for us? Jeremiah says that His plans are for a hope and a future. They are not for calamity or disaster. We agree to it in our intellect as His Word, but does our heart really soar in agreement. Do we really trust Him or are we trusting the government for our future?
If you cannot say for sure that your heart is at rest with the future, you first need to see God from the viewpoint of radical worship. Worship like Miriam, worship like David, worship like you know you will in heaven. It will break the world’s crust off of you. It will turn your heart of stone into a heart of flesh. (Ezek. 11:19, 36:26) Turn on your favorite worship music and lose yourself in the wonder, majesty and goodness of God.
My friend had the virus in December, before it was popular. She didn’t know what it was then, but she had all the symptoms. She called for prayer because she thought she would not make it through the night. When I asked her whether her friends close by could come and lay hands on her, she said they couldn’t because they were too sick also. In fact, one was on a respirator in the hospital and she did not want to go and have them do that to her. We prayed our best prayers for her from a distance. What God gave us was our Passover mantra, “The blood of Jesus is against you, Satan.” As we prayed this over and over her, she began to breathe better and thought that she could make it. When we talked to her the next day, she was much better, and she told us that she had warred with the blood of Jesus all that night.
The next Sunday she drug herself out of bed to get to church. She could not stand to sing as she was still too weak. When the pastor asked if anyone needed prayer, she made her way to the altar. As they prayed for her, she felt the fire of God come and drench her. It strengthened her and she was much improved.
As we move toward Pentecost, let that worship set you on fire. Let the fire of His Spirit come and burn in you. Let it do what fire does: cleanse you, make you pliable, refine you, rekindle you, empower you, heal you and prepare your way for future growth.
So why the story? Now is not the time to sit passively and fearfully waiting for this all to be over. Now is the time to take hold of your future and let the fire He sends at Pentecost change you from a Peter at Jesus’s trial to a Peter full of the Spirit ready to bring many to Christ. Now is your chance to fully submit to him and let the fire fully prepare you for the future. He has a great plan for you—Let the fire of God take you to the “next.”
