From time to time I ask church leaders, ‘Have you recently seen either in your church, or in your area any “activity of God?”’ Often following a time of ministry in a local church, I will ask the pastor to notify me of any “activity of God” he sees in the coming days. Sometimes I will be asked to explain what I mean by the phrase, “the activity of God.” What I do not mean is activity stirred up by people, whether emotional, political or mere religious fervor. What I do mean is that which is clearly initiated and empowered by God! Something that has only one explanation, “That is of God!”
Oftentimes I have to further explain it is not always what some to consider to only be “positive” things, like obvious blessings such as the salvation of a hell-bound sinner, the deliverance of one from a longstanding besetting sin, the restoring of a relationship that seemed forever broken asunder, etc. Many times the activity can be overlooked, because the activity is seen as “negative”, not a blessing, but a bruising! Remember what the Lord told the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity. I am the Lord who does ALL these things!” Isaiah 45:6b,7 It was the wise man Solomon who cautioned us, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11,12 The writer of the letter of Hebrews quoted this Scripture, then the Holy Spirit led him to add a statement. “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful, YET TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY IT, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” Hebrews 12:11
The Lord has been reminding me lately not to miss His activity by only associating it with pleasant experiences, but often His activity in us, and around us is painful in the short term, but leads us to the peace only He can provide!
Have you seen either in your own life, or in those around you any “activity of God” recently?
Jon Moore
