Spiritual warfare is real.
I apologize if it sounds blunt, but it is a topic that I cannot sugar coat. If you have a relationship with Jesus, you might have heard the story in Matthew 4 when He goes into the wilderness. Satan appears and tempts Him. I always imagined it as a face-off; the Son of God, fully human and fully divine, against the conniving devil.
The devil loves to lie; it’s his favorite game. The lies sometimes come in a whisper that endlessly echoes; other times, he gets in our faces and screams hurt, pain and anguish. His goal is to eradicate our connection to God the Father completely. And when one of us falls to our knees and accepts God’s grace, he becomes livid.
Now, think of this revival— the Holy Spirit rained down over 80 hours ago to wipe out the lies and heal broken hearts. Hell keeps losing ground as worship, confession and prayer continue.
And in the words of Asbury student Matthew, who spoke the other night: “This must suck for the devil.”
So what is Satan’s response? He is doing anything in his power to cause disturbances or tension.
My friends and I felt it today. However, we couldn’t name the act for what it was until we came together, because when two or more gather in Jesus’ name, Jesus is there (Matthew 18:20). So, the truth came out. We were caught in a spiritual war.
It came in the form of exhaustion, annoyance, and us feeling utterly overwhelmed. Most of us have practically lived in Hughes Auditorium for the past few days, allowing God to use our open postures to do whatever He called us to do. We just wanted more of Jesus. He’s our best friend, our Savior and our God. We wanted more and desired for other people to want Him, too.
And God remained faithful. Word spread, and it spread fast. Soon, a crowd of familiar faces became almost unrecognizable from communities pouring in through the chapel doors. And we praised Him! He deserves all the praise for the healing that took root and grew.
But Satan twisted it. He used our exhaustion to catch us off-guard. He wanted to get our attention off of God’s goodness. So, he planted a seed: ‘if your God loves you so much, why is all of His attention going to everyone else?’
We were praying for other college campuses, churches and people outside of Asbury’s campus.
‘But what about you?’ Satan prodded us. ‘What about your friends on campus who haven’t even walked in here? Doesn’t God love them, too? Doesn’t He love you?’
My friend Elle put it into better words. It felt like we were the older brother in the prodigal son story in Luke 15. We were becoming jealous, almost bitter. We felt unseen.
But there’s also something important to know about God. He always sees us. So, without knowing what we were experiencing, Asbury leadership stepped in no doubt because of the Holy Spirit.
Chapel speaker Zach Meerkreebs posted a video on Instagram, sharing how he knew the revival felt different from Wednesday or even Thursday. And that wasn’t a bad thing; it was a great thing!
“The Lord is continuing to pour out, and we’re experiencing some really beautiful things,” he said. “But it’s new, it’s different…And we want to acknowledge that to you guys.”
He went on to share excitement about Saturday night and that he was praying that we, Asbury students, felt “safe and hungry to come.”
“We’re going to create specific space just for you,” Meerkreebs said. “And other college students to lead us because that’s what you’ve been doing. So, I’m proud of you. I love you, and I hope I see some of my new friends tonight.”
It almost brought my friends and me to tears. Because once we got to Hughes after dinner and sat in the middle section of seats, Jesus began to give us essential reminders.
He saw us. He continues to see us. But this revival isn’t about us. It’s about Him.
“And there’s a war for attention,” George, who co-led worship for hours nonstop on Wednesday, said tonight. “God’s trying to get our attention. And so often, He will make a move for His people to get our attention because He really is worthy of it all.”
The enemy tried to get our attention, but he failed.
I share this struggle some of us have experienced because, as Meerkreebs shared on Saturday, we must consecrate ourselves to move forward. We have to go to Jesus; we couldn’t sit in that jealousy and bitterness and upset the beautiful work of the Holy Spirit. Because in Him, we find a safe place; we find protection.
And God’s word in Joshua 3:5 continues to say that once we consecrate ourselves, “tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” In other words, however God calls us or wherever He calls us, He will protect us as we advance.
But we have to be radically humble. We must take the focus off ourselves and let God move; we’ve already been and always will be taken care of.
Corporately, the revival will continue tomorrow Sunday, Feb. 12, in Hughes at 1:30 p.m. All are still welcome and encouraged to come.
God always sees us: a Saturday night Revival update
Spiritual warfare is real.
I apologize if it sounds blunt, but it is a topic that I cannot sugar coat. If you have a relationship with Jesus, you might have heard the story in Matthew 4 when He goes into the wilderness. Satan appears and tempts Him. I always imagined it as a face-off; the Son of God, fully human and fully divine, against the conniving devil.
The devil loves to lie; it’s his favorite game. The lies sometimes come in a whisper that endlessly echoes; other times, he gets in our faces and screams hurt, pain and anguish. His goal is to eradicate our connection to God the Father completely. And when one of us falls to our knees and accepts God’s grace, he becomes livid.
Now, think of this revival— the Holy Spirit rained down over 80 hours ago to wipe out the lies and heal broken hearts. Hell keeps losing ground as worship, confession and prayer continue.
And in the words of Asbury student Matthew, who spoke the other night: “This must suck for the devil.”
So what is Satan’s response? He is doing anything in his power to cause disturbances or tension.
My friends and I felt it today. However, we couldn’t name the act for what it was until we came together, because when two or more gather in Jesus’ name, Jesus is there (Matthew 18:20). So, the truth came out. We were caught in a spiritual war.
It came in the form of exhaustion, annoyance, and us feeling utterly overwhelmed. Most of us have practically lived in Hughes Auditorium for the past few days, allowing God to use our open postures to do whatever He called us to do. We just wanted more of Jesus. He’s our best friend, our Savior and our God. We wanted more and desired for other people to want Him, too.
And God remained faithful. Word spread, and it spread fast. Soon, a crowd of familiar faces became almost unrecognizable from communities pouring in through the chapel doors. And we praised Him! He deserves all the praise for the healing that took root and grew.
But Satan twisted it. He used our exhaustion to catch us off-guard. He wanted to get our attention off of God’s goodness. So, he planted a seed: ‘if your God loves you so much, why is all of His attention going to everyone else?’
We were praying for other college campuses, churches and people outside of Asbury’s campus.
‘But what about you?’ Satan prodded us. ‘What about your friends on campus who haven’t even walked in here? Doesn’t God love them, too? Doesn’t He love you?’
My friend Elle put it into better words. It felt like we were the older brother in the prodigal son story in Luke 15. We were becoming jealous, almost bitter. We felt unseen.
But there’s also something important to know about God. He always sees us. So, without knowing what we were experiencing, Asbury leadership stepped in no doubt because of the Holy Spirit.
Chapel speaker Zach Meerkreebs posted a video on Instagram, sharing how he knew the revival felt different from Wednesday or even Thursday. And that wasn’t a bad thing; it was a great thing!
“The Lord is continuing to pour out, and we’re experiencing some really beautiful things,” he said. “But it’s new, it’s different…And we want to acknowledge that to you guys.”
He went on to share excitement about Saturday night and that he was praying that we, Asbury students, felt “safe and hungry to come.”
“We’re going to create specific space just for you,” Meerkreebs said. “And other college students to lead us because that’s what you’ve been doing. So, I’m proud of you. I love you, and I hope I see some of my new friends tonight.”
It almost brought my friends and me to tears. Because once we got to Hughes after dinner and sat in the middle section of seats, Jesus began to give us essential reminders.
He saw us. He continues to see us. But this revival isn’t about us. It’s about Him.
“And there’s a war for attention,” George, who co-led worship for hours nonstop on Wednesday, said tonight. “God’s trying to get our attention. And so often, He will make a move for His people to get our attention because He really is worthy of it all.”
The enemy tried to get our attention, but he failed.
I share this struggle some of us have experienced because, as Meerkreebs shared on Saturday, we must consecrate ourselves to move forward. We have to go to Jesus; we couldn’t sit in that jealousy and bitterness and upset the beautiful work of the Holy Spirit. Because in Him, we find a safe place; we find protection.
And God’s word in Joshua 3:5 continues to say that once we consecrate ourselves, “tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” In other words, however God calls us or wherever He calls us, He will protect us as we advance.
But we have to be radically humble. We must take the focus off ourselves and let God move; we’ve already been and always will be taken care of.
Corporately, the revival will continue tomorrow Sunday, Feb. 12, in Hughes at 1:30 p.m. All are still welcome and encouraged to come.