I felt like the Lord showed me that we may sometimes inadvertently block His full move in our midst like a windscreen that blocks the wind. We get the air, but not the breeze and I believe He wants to come upon us like a rushing wind as it did in 2nd chapter of Acts.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.” – Acts 2
I felt like He was showing me that we tend to restrict His personality when we control how we should conduct ourselves during gatherings. We do this so as not to disturb, frighten or confuse people around us. He showed me that we try to help Him in this way as if He wasn’t able to take care of His own in His way. In trying to help Him, we are controlling Him. We are tying His hands to move. If we invite a friend to a party, but tell that friend not to talk too loud or be too active, but to sit still so that others can feel comfortable then that is what the Holy Spirit feels like. I believe the Lord is showing me that we have shut Him down even though we may strongly declare that we want Him. We only want part of Him.
The Lord is a gentleman and will honor our freedom of choice, but I believe that He is saying we take away His freedom of choice when we control how He moves. Over the decades I have witnessed how believers declare with great devotion how much they want to see the Lord, but then restrict on how He moves in our gatherings. When the Toronto Outpouring occurred, there was so much unusual behaviors with people shaking, laughing, swooning, dancing, falling down, jumping, roaring etc.. Millions of people across the globe joined in the party, but at the same time it caused a great uproar by them that wanted to control it or even shut it down. In other words, control the Holy Spirit and shut Him down. And so it seems He mostly bowed out. This brings tears to my eyes.
I once cooked for a retreat and several people came to tell me what ingredient they preferred or what to exclude. (I refused to budge and they still gobbled up every single morsel begging for more treats.) In the same way the Lord showed me we have done similar to Him by hampering what He wanted to add. It was by shutting down people who flowed in their own peculiar way when touched by Him or scheduling a few moments for shaking and baking and then moving on to the message or other activity. Our seeming wisdom in controlling the wild moves of His presence has stripped us of heaven’s serendipity. We have what we asked for which is not really memorable if we have to admit this.
The point is that He is asking us to let go of control and to stop restricting Him. I believe He is also saying that it’s His job to protect them that might get turned off by what we once experienced as shaking and baking with aplomb. He showed me they will find a place that works for them and then He showed me that I started as non-charismatic in the 70s. I recall being mortified by people raising their hands during worship and so I stayed with my comfortable conservative Christian group. He slowly eased me into Spirit led experiences and fellowship. Fast forward 25 years and I was falling under the power of His presence laughing my head off and jumping right into all the shaking and baking and prophesying. I chose where I needed to be and what worked for me. I believe He showed me that we don’t need to chose what works for people. When we do, we inadvertently shoo Him away and control Him.
I believe He is saying that it’s time to let go of control and give Him permission to act like He did in Acts. I believe it’s time to declare to Him that we chose to no longer control what He is doing and to let go of what we think was wisdom. He showed me that we don’t know what He will do this time around and that perhaps He will bring new things into the mix. I recall William J. Seymour putting a garbage can over his head while the Spirit of the Lord moved powerfully at the Azusa Street Revival. We cannot predict what He will do and how He will do it and what He will ask us to do. I believe it’s time to move on from the notion that we know better because it’s not wisdom. It’s fear and control.
If we try to bottle the wind, then it will blow no more. I believe that He is showing me that much of His church has done that with His Spirit and so we have what we have now. I believe He is calling us to risk it all and let Him do what He will do without apologetics or explanations or trying to protect people in their faith regarding how He moves with His Spirit. It’s time to let go. I believe it’s time to let go of our wisdom that seems like wisdom. Some of the most Spirit filled believers who famously splashed in the river of His wild presence have haplessly become controllers of God’s Spirit and to these He is saying, “Wake up, let go and let God.”
I can’t help but feel that we are going to see Him move in a way we never expected and that we will see some of the old and some of the very new, out of the box stuff He is so well known for. Let Him have His way then. For them that never have, then an adventure awaits. For them that once moved powerfully and demonstrably with Him, to return and be renewed without helping Him.