God Moving Quickly (2 Chronicles 29:36)

 


Wednesday, August 21, 2024


Psalms 121; 122; 123

2 Chronicles 29:31-30:12

Romans 12:1-8


God Moving Quickly (2 Chronicles 29:36)


I sometimes wonder if our conception of God has influenced how we understand God to move. If God is really, really big (or, as the Sunday School song goes, “so big, so strong and so mighty”) then does that mean we think God is a bit ponderous, taking time to warm up before he really hits top speed?


As we humans flit about this fleeting life, zipping this way and that like dragonflies on a pond, the fact that God is working to his own timetable forces us to slow down and become patient. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however: none of us have all the information, and it is good to place our trust in the Lord to do what he seems best, when he seems best.


The people of Hezekiah’s kingdom must have thought the same way as we do. Because at the end of this great revival at the Temple, the author specifically points out that their rejoicing was because God had moved so quickly. They weren’t used to God moving like this; they thought they still had ages to go before God brought about the revival. And so when it happened, it caught them by surprise, and they were extra happy as a result.


In our own time it can seem much the same way. Most Christian churches are closing. There are still a few blossoming beacons of hope, but in the main, all seems bleak. We hear the phrase “managing decline” and wonder about the dissonance between what we read in the Bible and what we see in the church.


But when God moves, we probably won’t get much warning. Or, we have been given plenty of warning, and we just don’t know how to see it. Either way, it will come about quickly.


When the revival comes (and come it must), will it be a rude shock? Or will we be happy, rejoicing at what God has brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly?


O Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts for your next great movement among us. Make us hopeful watchmen, always looking out for you, and grateful children, rejoicing over your blessings upon us.

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