Coming Out of the Wilderness
This past year and especially the
last six months have been a time of
tremendous change and upheaval
personally and in this ministry. I
don’t remember a time when so
much change has happened so
quickly. From speaking with several
different people from all across the
world who are also in ministry, this
seems to be the norm and not the
exception anymore. Almost everyone
that I’ve spoken with is going
through some kind of great change
or even personal “crisis”. Yet in the
middle of it all, God continues to
give his steadfast love and his
unmistakable peace.
This past year personally has seen
God move our family from a large
thriving church that we had been a
part of for 17 years to a much smaller,
struggling church. (Be careful
what you say you will never do. God
has sent me to the very church that I
said I would never attend!) I am
happy to say that the smaller church
has doubled in size in the last year,
and isn’t struggling anymore.
This past six months has also seen
some of the darkest, most desert
time for this ministry and for me
personally. There were entire weeks
when I couldn’t hear the clear voice
of God, and many days when I
couldn’t feel His presence. Yet, my
faith never wavered, as I knew that
He was there.
My battle had gotten very intense
during the month of May. I remember
calling daily to prayer warriors
and intercessors all over the nation
asking them to stand with us during
this very difficult time. Some gave
only lip service and said they would
pray for us. Many others prayed
right then, and continued to pray for
us until they saw us “coming out of
the wilderness”. After days and days
of intense prayer, repentance, fasting
and encouragement, The Lord
instructed me to “go to Nashville”. I
felt extremely compelled to get to
“The Call, Nashville”. I traveled
with eight others from my local
church. I remember plainly as I
stepped foot on the grounds of that
huge stadium that I begin to sense
the awesome Presence of God that I
had not sensed in many, many
months. We finally found a seat, and
begin to worship. A young man
named Rick Pino was leading worship.
As he began to sing, “Holy,
Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power &
Might”, something broke in me. I
was almost ashamed as tears flooded
my face in such a way that I could
hardly see in front of me. As I wiped
the tears I looked around to see if I
had caused “a scene”, and to my
delight and amazement, there were
70,000 others doing the same thing!
What a wonderful, joyful sight as
this huge crowd began to sing, weep,
dance and express their intense love
for the Lord.
All the months of despair, sadness,
disappointment, failure, and all
my other negative emotions were
instantly replaced with joy, comfort,
peace, and hope. Later that day I had
opportunity to talk with people from
Utah, Pennsylvania, Ohio and many
other states. Their testimonies were
all the same. They testified of a similar
“barren” time and how God had
restored and refreshed on that day.
Great change is still occurring. We
are seeing God direct us in a totally
new direction that we didn’t see
coming just six months ago. After 17
years, God has also opened up doors
of ministry through television. (You
can view our program each
Thursday night at 9 pm on UBN
Channel 45 in Russellville.)
We
believe that six months from now,
this ministry will not even resemble
what it is now. That is because we
have allowed God to sovereignly
take over. As you know, when God
has total control, great and wonderful
things begin to take place. Stay
tuned!
Garry
CG |
