As we leave the New Year’s festivities behind, we find ourselves facing a world that increasingly appears ‘crazy’ in many respects. The pace of change and its global scale are unprecedented in human history. Feeling overwhelmed by fear and anxiety is not an unreasonable reaction. From a rationalistic (relying solely on reason and knowledge) and mechanistic (viewing issues purely in physical terms) worldview, humanity seems to be in trouble. To borrow a Biblical metaphor, rationally it seems that “our boat is going to sink in the storm.”

However, if we open the “eyes of our heart”— that is, if we allow the Creator Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, and of fear of the Lord, to touch our spirit and strengthen our mortal being—we will realise that our Saviour is in the boat, asleep. He is not sleeping because He is unsuspecting or indifferent to our storm, but because He is in control, and no one can pluck us from His hands. May we live by the Spirit so that our storm becomes so insignificant that we do not lose sleep over it, for we can see clearly that our Loving and Sovereign Saviour is in our boat.  He is en route to His final destination with His creation.

Lastly, will you pray with us for a Holy Spirit revival in our country?  I include a summary from a doctoral study facilitated at ATS to help you understand what a Holy Spirit revival may look like:

“It begins as an initiative of the Holy Spirit, where a group of people persevere on the basis of a promise, in prayer and fasting in anticipation of revival or a deeper encounter with God. Different people may play a role in the movement, but the central person is the Holy Spirit. When the outpouring of the Spirit occurs, it is accompanied by the following attributes: Glossolalia, first of all, is common, as are other spiritual gifts such as prophecy, teaching, miracles, and healings. It all takes place within an atmosphere of unity and charity, where all barriers between different ethnic groups, ages, social classes and gender are broken down. People are empowered by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit powerfully for the missionary task in the world, which is to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. Conversions accompanied by radical life changes and restitution are common, and no one is excluded from the functioning of the gifts. Ministry, therefore, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, takes place in a spontaneous manner with the aim of building up the body of Christ and spreading the gospel in the world. This empowerment of the Holy Spirit takes place in such a powerful way that God receives all the glory.”  (Jacobs, A.C. 2010. The Pastor’s Experience of the Challenge in a Multicultural Pentecostal-Charismatic Congregation of South Africa.)

We are all called by God for this great task!