Here’s a pattern in the Bible. It happens over and over again.

Life is rough. God intercedes. Life is good.

Yes, it’s a simplification, but it’s there.

But then life gets rough again. People die. Invaders overtake the land. People are expelled. People end up living in slavery.

Then God intercedes and life is good.

But then everything falls apart again after a while. Wash, rinse, repeat.

What seems to be happening in these cases is, that when life is good, people think they can do it for themselves. They forget about God and make up their own rules as they go. Eventually things get so bad something breaks and there’s a sudden, great spiritual revival and people are all going to church and following God’s plan.

When I look at this pattern, I think of the state of the church and society today.

Here’s what I think.

We’re still on the way down.

The going is good so we don’t need God.

I believe we are on the verge of a great spiritual revival of Biblical proportions. God is putting people in places, He’s preparing things, getting ready. Only, things aren’t bad enough yet. We’re probably getting close, but not quite close enough.

It’s sad, but true.

When we look at the Bible, things get really bad before the masses begin crying out to God for help and returning to Him.

We aren’t there yet. We are well on our way to making our own rules, we’ve been doing it for decades. The man-made structures of governance and accountability are showing cracks under the stress. Sin is rampant, especially in these sectors. And innocent people are suffering greatly.

I pray we can avoid further pain and suffering. I pray things won’t get that bad.

But until people are ready to turn to God, there’s not a lot of hope to be had. God is pouring out His love to the world, but the world isn’t listening. And until the world is ready to listen, there’s going to be some struggles along the way.

What we can do as a church is be faithful to God’s call to love Him most of all, and our neighbours as ourselves. That is, love the people around us, the people who struggle, the people who need help. People just like us.

The world as a whole may not be ready, but people in our communities are longing to be loved.

This is where the church can make a difference. This is our calling today.

Come in. Seek God. Reach out. Love.

God will take us there.