The Wonder

 "As they pass through the valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a place of springs". Psalm 84:6.

Do you ever stop and wonder what all of this is really about?

The universe, though containing real splendour, appears to be quite cold and barren. Life here, whilst adorned with all manner of astonishing moments, is deeply marked with trouble and suffering which conclude in death.

It all looks pretty bleak in many respects.

No one could have gone through the last few years on this planet without noticing that there's been a real shift - a major upturn - in the propensity of evil almost everywhere, and that uprising appears to be growing and deepening all of the time, but there is, when you look closely enough, a good reason for this.

This comes in two parts.

First, there's the dreadful aspect - not in respect to even more suffering, although that is most certainly true for many - but in regards to who is generating this malevolence, and, more importantly, why they are doing so.

Have a listen to this superb explanation by David Wood on what's actually taking place here. The 'fools' are doing what they are doing because the provocation of the divine is so strong, their reaction is to war against it.

Secondly, there's the refining consequence of what is happening as a result. 

Let me give you an example.

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is almost gone in many parts of the country. It was found to be ineffective in respect to facing and overcoming the forces of secularism, both internally and externally - much like the Church of England. What is replacing this is a flourishing of new Eastern European and African missionary churches which are seeing large numbers of Irish people returning to Christianity. The interesting thing here is that many of these never lost faith in God but entirely lost confidence in the institutions that had so failed them.

It's also important to understand that many of these new churches have grown out of the seeds which were planted in Africa by Christian missionaries from the UK in the 19th and 20th centuries and through the Bible smuggling that occurred into communist countries in the 1970's, 80's and 90's - we are witnessing the results of that work.

We are living at a very telling moment in cosmic affairs - a real defining of where men and women stand is taking place, so as bizarre new definitions of marriage, dietary requirements and social devotion arise and become enforced, it's imperative that we are like the sons of Korah in the Psalm - we're passing through the valley of sorrows, but we've seen what's ahead, and we rejoice amidst the trial because of that splendour.

The Lord said to Abraham that what He was seeking was a preparation of a place He could make home, right here amongst us.

That is the mission objective, and Jesus will return at the Father's hour to make it so.