Ok, I know it’s the last thing we want to hear with our
province on fire over the past two months. Within our own Canadian Vineyard
family, we’ve experienced an “earthquake” of another kind that has knocked the
wind out of us, leaving us numb and reeling, spiritually and emotionally. To
add to all this, I received a message at our church Facebook site a few weeks ago from someone
in Kansas, predicting a major earthquake in this region near the end of summer.
I was struck by the person’s certainty combined with humility.
Responding to a word like this can be tricky, and maybe even
more so if you’re a pastor. On one hand, I don’t want to spread fear and panic.
I am mindful that we are on a major fault line and seismologists, geologists
and other scientists have been predicting the “big one” for some time - that it
isn’t a matter of “if,” but “when.” Yet, it's impossible to predict the timing, so no one knows this except
God.
A GIANT METEOR AND Y2K
I grew up with a lot of doom and gloom, as part of the
preaching "diet." Predictions that the world would end soon were characteristic of that time. I remember as a child
hearing predictions of a Soviet nuclear attack on North America by 1972, and that the great
tribulation of Revelation, with all the apocalyptic horror and worst nightmares
that any young Pentecostal kid could imagine, was imminent! At
ten years of age, I heard a sermon by a well-known evangelist who predicted
that a giant meteor would strike the earth within 15 years, ending life on earth as we
know it. I remember exactly where I was, sitting on the front row of the church, taking this all in, and being physically doubled over in sheer terror, feeling icy tentacles
of anxiety in my stomach, contemplating the fact as a 10 year old that I would
never be able to enjoy an adult life, (which included being able to marry any
girl I happened to have a crush on at the time)! Then, who of us can forget Y2K
(unless you’re under 20!) We were all preparing for the end of the world as we knew it - again! Some people made a lot of
money off that!
In addition, predictions of earthquakes hitting the west coast have come to us before. I recall attending some of the more Charismatic Vancouver Pastor's prayer gatherings where we would weigh words like this, discerning together in community and for the most part, disregarding them as "not accurate." So, forgive me if I take any predictions of earthquakes with a
grain of salt and caution. I know what fear did to me as a child, and how it
negatively impacted my worldview and my spirituality. It kept me from pacing
myself well for a “long obedience in the same direction,” which ended up in a
catastrophic ministry burnout by the time I was 30! Now that was a real
catastrophe!
Yet, for all these disclaimers, I don’t want to dismiss what
might be a genuine warning from God, and if it is, what do we do with it? Summer
travels have not helped, including the capacity to co-discern with colleagues and to check references for the
messenger, but I decided in July to go on a few weeks of my own “Ignatian discernment,”
that is, seeking to process the message, being present to God and paying attention
to things I noticed that would indicate further action or response. I also prayed and discussed with a few trusted prophetic people, peers, and intercessors in my
life. Most did not sense that the word
was to be taken literally, as an exact date was given and there does not seem to be scriptural precedent for this. Some felt the message was metaphorical of the spiritual “earthquakes”
that have been happening in our BC region as well as our national Vineyard
family. I note for example that David Ruis’ opening address at our Montreal
gathering was about a great shaking coming, “so the things that cannot be
shaken will remain.”[1]
Earthquake or not, all strongly exhorted against fear, as fear is not from God.
A THIRD WAY BETWEEN "FEAR" AND "DISMISSAL"
So, what shall we then do? Is there a third way between
dismissing the message on one hand, and spreading fear on the other? Well, let’s
imagine that we knew for sure that the big one was imminent (and we don’t). How
would we behave or respond? Well, hopefully
not much different than what we are doing, but here are some thoughts:
1. Be
reminded that God is in control. One of the first things that came strongly to me during my
discernment process was this Scripture: “When
the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.”[2]
Jesus predicted an abundance of earthquakes in his apocalyptic “Mount of Olives”
sermon, but he almost mentions them in passing, that they are a backdrop to the
real drama of the inevitable advance of the kingdom of God. We have the
assurance that God is holding the pillars of the earth, and he has a solid grip
on the foundations of our lives and our city: we are in good hands!
2. Take the message as an invitation to pray. Earthquake or not, our culture desperately needs to wake
up from our sleep, and we as the church need to humble ourselves and pray for our city. We need mercy and most of all, we need to pray that the Kingdom
of God, of justice and righteousness would come, and that our nation would turn to
God as our Source and our Refuge. It's highly timely that the 24/7 prayer
room is engaged in a week of non-stop prayer for our city this very week – you can drop in any time at 605 East Cordova Street!
3. Further to point 2, it is
noteworthy that prophetic messages are not necessary a prediction – they are an invitation
to pray so that what was predicted does not occur! This is the mystery of
our partnership with God. I remember listening to the elderly and grace-filled Agnes Sanford speak
at Charismatic conferences at Melodyland when I was a teen in the late 1970’s,
and was so impacted by her courage in deliberately buying a house on the San
Andreas fault in Southern California, just so she could pray against the
earthquakes! Every time she felt a tremor, she would set herself to prayer, and
actually deliberately spoke directly to the earth and the tremors, commanding
them to calm down! And they did! We can do the same.[3]
4. This can be another reminder to take the prescribed precautions of those who
inhabit an earthquake zone. This includes being “seismically mindful” of where
you are at all times, with an action or escape plan in your home, workplace, school,
etc. It also means having a 3 day emergency preparation plan as outlined by the
City of Vancouver’s NEPP (Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Plan). This link takes you to great advice and resources. Their advice includes having a relational network and a communication plan –
with family, neighbours, friends, home group, etc.
Is the big one imminent? I don't know. Seismologists say it could be today, or, it could be another 100 years. What I do know is that God is in control and God says, "Fear not. Trust and obey.... Continue seeking first the kingdom of God...” Earthquake or not, our lives are in God’s hands. We are in good hands! In the words of Lady Julian of Norwich, "All will be well... all manner of things will be well in the Lord." Selah!
