I along with many other prophetic voices have been prophesying about the Great Outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This outpouring would see billions of people coming to the Lord, astounding everyday signs and wonders, miraculous healings and global Christianity in every walk of life. So we’re seeing some of these things here and there coming and going in various hot spots in the world, but nothing gripping and sweeping across the globe. Where is the great revival? In my lifetime I have been influenced by the Jesus movement, the Charismatic Renewal, the Vineyard movement and the Toronto Renewal. All these swept the world. We want to see that.
I asked Him what’s going on. He said I had the where, what, why and who of what He will be doing across the world, but not the when. He said that we can fall into discouragement and unbelief by our impatience and presumptions about the when. He showed me that I was not a specific times prophet and I never have been. I have never been given a specific date about any occurrence. I’m barely a seasons prophetic voice getting general summaries of what He’s doing such as the now season of growing in intimacy with Him. I often get words about future epochs and a few near events. He showed me that the many prophetic words about the Great Outpouring are epoch prophecies. In history, an epoch is a period of time characterized by a particular set of events or trends. He’s showing us what is to come to exhort, edify and comfort us. He’s doing this to keep hope and joy alive and to stoke our faith.
He showed me that there is nothing wrong with fixing our hopes on an amazing future epoch and to set aside our impatience, because life is in the here and now, the present. He said the present is a fountain of life unfolding before our very presence. He said He was the Fountain of Life where we can interact with Him in real time, the now.
Ps 19:1-2 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
Since there is an epoch of the Great Outpouring coming and if it didn’t happen in our lifetime on Earth, He said we would still be involved on the other side in heaven. He said it would be an even better bird’s eye view. This means we will not miss out on a thing.
I believe some of us have been developing a kind jadedness in hearing about what’s to come and He wants us to adjust our perspective. Bless and accept what is to come and bless and accept what is before us in the present. It says in I Thes 5:20, “Do not reject prophecies, but test all things; hold fast to what is good.” So there is an amazing epoch coming and it could be 100 years from now, but nevertheless it’s on its way! It could happen tomorrow. Only He knows. If we knew an exact date such as December 15, it would affect everything we are doing now, perhaps today just not being important because it will be amazing some other day in December. That’s not living for today.
Living in the present is not easy and it’s a very real struggle for some. It’s influenced by us being stuck in the past or the grass is greener in the future. We can ask Him to help us live in the present with Him and to accept and work with what we have now. Today builds tomorrow.
Giant Redwood Tree