2020: Spiritual "Rusting" or Fresh Vision?

 The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. (Ezekiel 1:1)

“And I saw visions of God.” When we open and read the Bible by the Holy Spirit we see what God causes us to see; there is nothing in the nature of hallucination or fairy story or even a political conspiracy about the vision. 

The full meaning of what we read dawns on us when we realize that we are in the presence of God, and we recognize our own insignificance. 

Have you ever seen God in all His power and majesty? The vision of God and the realization of who He is, for even a moment, is worth all the experiences of God’s grace you ever had. The church, for the most part, has lost that vision and our world is paying a huge price.

An arresting vision and understanding of God often comes after a prolonged season of spiritual dryness - a spiritual “rusting” in agony of soul before God, a sense of aloofness and uselessness. 2020 has felt like a "rusting" - as we try to make sense of the fallout from the virus, the violence in the streets, and unrest all around the world. 

We have to beware that our impatience with endless restrictions, lockdowns, masks, and social isolation might make us lose our faith; impatience means unbelief in God’s providence, and is due to lack of a right relationship of the personal life to God. 

Before COVID-19 came on the scene many of us experienced months, maybe years, of real service for God and real results. Now we are “shut up,” and in all probability we are of more use to God because before the shutdown we estimated by what we could see. 

In an attempt to fill the void, along came the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor that sparked a sensational activist social justice movement known as Black Lives Matter. Restless young people took to the streets to protest. And, sadly many Christian leaders in an effort to be culturally relevant and active on social media got caught up in a man-centered cause that has now spilled over into violence and destruction across our country.

What is the one thing many of us rebel against? Taking the time to be trained for God—“Let us get into practical work” is the cry, and how much discipline is there? 2020 is the year God gave us the blessing of being "shut up" and alone in communion with Him. Before taking to the streets and social media to protest, we could have had a time of reflection and self-examination before God: 

• How much do I know of my own soul? 
• How much do I know of God’s Book? 
• How much have I learned to live the life “hid with Christ in God”?
• How much do I know about heart-break? 
• How much about other people being turned into shadows? 
• How much, beyond mere pathetic sentiment, about being made broken bread and poured-out wine in God’s hands? 

What is called practical work or, in 2020's case - social activism - is the greatest hindrance in God’s dealing with souls. We rush through life and call ourselves practical, we mistake bustle for business, activity for real life, and when the activities stop we go out like vapor because our work is not based on the fundamental energy of God.

The counterfeit of spiritual power does not turn him into a son of God, it is merely a vague fanatical influence. And it is that fanaticism that became the impetus for the Woke Church and Black Lives Matter - a fanaticism that played on the impatience and pride of many bored "rusty" Christians who were confined at home feeding on the lies of Twitter and Facebook. 

When God puts a special call on a special person it always means isolation for a time. Aloneness must be made an opportunity for God in the life, or Satan gets the victory. Only when you stand on your feet at God’s command, after having been on your face before Him, can God speak with you. To stand on your feet before God is expressive of the realization that I know what I was created for - for God. We are not here to serve God, but for God.