A Bumpy Road to Heaven

I was in a worship service at the San Rafael Open Door this past November, when Becky Riley walked up to the front to lead the congregation in prayer. Becky prayed boldly for the Lord to send rain to California. The state had been in a drought that created a crisis. For several summers, fires burned hundreds of thousands of acres of forest and wild animals; many homes were destroyed and people lost their lives. Farmers were forced to abandon vast tracts of crop land and fruit trees because their water allocations had been reduced.

As one atmospheric river after another brought rain to California, I called Jon Riley, the Open Door pastor to commend their congregation for their bold prayers. Jon told me that Peggy Burt had persisted in asking their church to pray for rain each Sunday. They believe James 5:16-18, The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain...

The correlation between human behavior and climate is well documented in the Bible. God brought a great flood to destroy the wicked in the days of Noah. God used famines to mold and move Abraham and eventually all of Israel from the promised land to Egypt and back again. The cause of every famine or storm is not easy to interpret; however, sin does affect climate and rain is a blessing from God.

This abrupt shift in climate from a historic drought to the greatest rainfall total in the shortest time in California history can be interpreted as either climate change gone wild, or an intervention of supernatural grace in response to bold prayer. I believe these storms are the grace of God, and the grace of God fills me with thanksgiving.

By definition, the supernatural is something that does not happen on a regular basis or with natural timing. I’m not pessimistic about the future, because God has supernatural power, which he releases to accomplish his purposes. He can pour out the Holy Spirit suddenly and change the course of our lives and history.

Obviously, floods can cause property damage and loss of life. I’m aware of the pain storms can cause. Our son Matthew drowned in a rain swollen river. Yet, without rain, our civilization would not survive. Jesus told us to build our homes and lives on the solid foundation of his word because literal and spiritual storms will test us all.

The current storms are a messy miracle of mercy. God’s intervention brings disruptions as well as deliverance. The Old Testament is filled with bloody stories. Circumcision and the sacrificial system were bloody. Israel being delivered from Egypt was bloody. Israel conquering the promised land was bloody. The judgements of God on Israel’s disobedience were bloody.

In the New Testament, Herod’s response to the birth of Jesus was bloody. The crucifixion of Jesus was bloody. When Jesus cast out demons it was messy. When he spit, made mud and put the mud on a blind man’s eyes, it was messy, yet afterwards the man could see.

It was bloody when I watched our children being born, yet their messy bodies were miraculous to behold.  It was bloody when Kristina had a heart transplant, yet today she is thriving in her ongoing battle to overcome physical challenges.

Our extended family is wonderful and messy. The history of the churches we have planted are both miraculous and messy. Depending on your perspective, politics, vaccines, our economy, and the history of America is wonderful, bloody, and messy.

You would hope that people would change over the centuries. However, the Holocaust that led to the fulfillment of prophecy and rebirth of Israel in 1948 was a horrific bloody mess.

Many people are praying for revival because they think a spiritual awakening will save our nation from judgement and disaster. I pray for spiritual awakening as well. However, the Jesus movement when millions of people, including me, came to Christ in the 60’s and 70’s was messy. Immature people don’t develop great character quickly just because they begin to follow Christ.

The wonderful spiritual awakening I have seen in Ecuador the last ten years has had a messy dynamic as well. Even God’s family struggles with each other as we mature and God’s judgements begin in his house before he deals with the rest of the world.

Buckle up my friends. God answers prayers in miraculous ways, yet we are still in for a bumpy ride on this narrow road that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven.