The Wonder and the Fear of God's Story, by Pete GreigPete Greig - 27 Apr 2007

At Sunday School we used to sing in our squeakiest voices one particularly classic chorus:

“He gives me lips to eat my chips
(and his banner over me is love) (x3)
Coz when you walk with the Lord,
you don’t get bored
Sing Hallelujah, Amen!”

OK, so I admit that the lyrics probably weren’t penned by William Shakespeare or Charles Wesley, but thirty years later I look back with a smile and know that they were hilariously true. God has indeed given me lips with which to dine on chips and for this I am grateful. More importantly, walking with Him is almost never boring (although there has been the occasional meeting during these three decades that reduced me to Solitaire on my phone).

Life on the 24-7 roller coaster is many things: terrifying, exciting, frustrating, demanding, and funny; but it is never, ever boring. For seven years we have known the wonder and the fear of being caught up in God’s purposes. And the wonderful, scary news is that it’s not slowing down:

• In America right now a crazy plot has been hatched to place a 24-7 prayer room on every single university campus so that every student in America has an opportunity to experience the life-changing presence of Jesus and the power of prayer!
• Entire denominations are giving themselves to years of unbroken prayer – in Finland it’s the Baptists and in Ireland it’s the Methodists.
• In England we’re ramping up for another season of 24-7 Prayer in the British Parliament!
• A pastor recently attributed the growth of a church in Belgrade, to the input of 24-7 prayer and mission.
• Our mission team to Iceland has returned almost speechless with excitement at what the Lord did.
• In Mexico, Kelly Greene now has a team of three others working with her amongst the wonderful, broken people of Boy’s Town.
• All around the world we’re gearing up for the Annual Global Day of Prayer.
• God also seems to be opening exciting, scary doors for 24-7 in countries that are closed to the gospel, right now.
• Red Moon Rising has just been translated into French and Macedonian, and it’s about to be reprinted for the eighth time in America.

Let me draw your attention to two very powerful stories that have been emailed to me in the last 24 hours. They have reminded me afresh of the wonder and the fear of falling into the hands of God. These reports will – I know – move you very deeply. If they don’t, you’d better check your will!

The wonder…

The first story comes from a prayer room in America, where one student’s ‘appointment with God’ in a 24-7 prayer room triggered a chain of salvation with absolutely remarkable consequences. I read this report last night and thought ‘This is why we do what we do”.

… and the fear

The second report arrived this morning and troubled me a great deal for many reasons, some less obvious than others. It describes graphically the torture and martyrdom last week of some brothers in Turkey who were simply seeking to share Christ’s love with their neighbours – the sort of thing we all try to do each day. The response of one of the wives to her husband’s brutal killing, is nothing short of heroic. Turkish national news sources reported her declaration of forgiveness, which has had an impact in the mainly Muslim nation. I am reminded of the description in Revelation 12:11 of those who: “did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death”.


Homo curvatus in se

Like those martyrs, I love being part of the story of God. I love so many people and places and things. I love having lips to eat my chips. I love the fact that ‘when you walk with the Lord you don’t get bored’. But Martin Luther defined sin as homo curvatus in se, literally "man curved in upon himself". Perhaps it is possible to embrace God’s blessings selfishly, to love this life a little too much. “Dear Lord, may I – like those martyrs - never love this life you have given me so much that I shrink from the daily death of discipleship (Rom 12.1). Help me not to curve in upon myself, clutching your many blessings as if they were mine to keep. Instead I offer myself and my life to you afresh today… as a living sacrifice. Whatever that might mean.” Amen.
 

Photo for title image and thumbnail provided by Steve Bailey under a Creative Commons License.