I looked up and saw a great wave forming just offshore, rising from the ocean’s surface. As the wave rose up, the water drew back from the shore, feeding the wave; the higher the wave rose, the further back the water drew until the sea floor was exposed.
As the water exposed the sea floor, it also exposed all the dark, dirty things that had bee lying hidden on the sea floor, things which hadn’t seen the light of day for years, decades.
The wave paused, like it was waiting, and I saw people watching the wave and the exposed sea floor. As they water drew back, they walked out toward the sea, wondering what was going on. As they saw the ugly debris that the receding water exposed, they responded in a couple of ways.
Some of their faces showed shame or disgust, even anger, and they tried to cover the hidden things with mud to hide them again, and as they did, they became covered in mud. Some tried to pretend that they had nothing there, nothing to see, and they scrambled back toward shore, talking about football or weather, or anything except the hidden secrets now uncovered. But everyone could tell they, too, were now covered with mud that had splashed up while they were running to get away.
Others saw the hidden things and they owned them, murmuring, “Oh! I remember when that happened!” or “I’d forgotten about that!” or “I wondered where that had gone.” And they picked up the dark messes and carried them back to shore. Some of the people deliberately deposited their dark bundles carefully in garbage cans, set out especially for the occasion. Others cleaned and examined the bundles, removing layer after layer of mud and grime, deposited over the years.
One dark bundle, as the owner carefully scraped away layers of black guck, revealed a gold wristwatch, which he carefully cleaned, then put onto his wrist. Another uncovered a red and white music box, it still played its tune when she lifted the lid. One young man was working on a black mess larger than himself, which eventually disclosed a white surfboard with three short rudders in its tail.
Only after everyone had a chance to retrieve their lost belongings did the wave resume its course, towering over the people as it rushed landward. Many of those who hid or ignored the dark things ran in terror from the wave, screaming or weeping as they did. Those who had brought their dark secrets with them saw the wave, and welcomed its arrival; when it swept past them, it left them clean and bright and refreshed, but it swept the others away, still screaming, still struggling. One young man was seen surfing the wave, dodging people and obstacles, carried farther and higher than he’d ever been before.
For years, God has been speaking of another wave of revival coming to our region, and often he’s used the imagery of a wave, like a tsunami coming towards us.
The wave is now rising from the calm waters in which we live and breathe and go to church, as the presence of God is preparing to rush upon us. But as he prepares, as the wave rises, many hidden things are revealed, and our Father gently, patiently, waits for us to respond to them.
Many people will find hidden sin revealed; others will find character flaws brought to light. And God patiently waits as we repent, as we deal with the issues and prepare to move forward. The wave will come to land, the power and presence of God will descend on our region – though nobody yet knows how or where – but he waits for the darkness to be removed first, because he wants the wave to come in clean, free from the garbage that we’ve hidden for so many years. In this time of anticipation of God’s move, repentance is our faithful friend.
But some of what has been hidden is not sin, though it’s similarly hidden in the depths. Some of us have had callings, visions, dreams, hopes, that we’ve given up, forgotten about. A few were fleshly ambitions that need repentance and disposal. But many are gifts from God that had been abandoned because of fear, doubt, misunderstanding. It’s time to pick these up, wipe away the darkness and grime of our disregard or disrespect, and begin to walk in the callings, begin to dream the dreams again.
This is not a matter of our labor. This is a matter of our simply agreeing with the Father. No, I don’t choose these dark things. Yes, I do choose him over them. Certainly, you may wash me of these things. Yes, I want to choose your Son over them all!
The wave is coming. But it is waiting while we discover what he is uncovering, and make ourselves ready for a move of God, full of power and grace.
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