There is a call in the silence, for those who will listen to spend time at the feet of the Father. A cry in the noise goes out for us all to “be still [so we may] know He is God” (Psalm 46:10). As with any loving Father, it delights God for His children to come and spend time. Yet from that space there is also a call to step out and extend Kingdom. There is much to do. But for those who have gone on the journey with me (read my words of encouragement, and stories of favour) you will know – we first enter, and from there we go. We must first be, and from the being the doing will flow. Because

God will work on your being; as He gives you your go!*

My journey towards recognising Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior is traceable back to when I was 4 or 5 years of age. Born into an atheist, at best agnostic, family, I sought answers to questions beyond my age. Practising the violin as a little girl, I have the distinct memory of suddenly pondering death and what happened thereafter. Being brought up in a home that encouraged thoughtful questions, I put my violin down and sought answers from my father. Who else would I go to? He was, after all, the fountain of truth in my little world. He alone held the wisdom my childish heart yearned for, and as a man who committed his life to ponder life’s challenging mysteries, I felt certain he would know.

My father, a professor of philosophy, with a doctorate from Oxford University, taught symbolic logic at a local university. He regularly challenged us with questions such as, “If the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into now?”

On hearing my question about what occurred after death, he looked at me with all seriousness, and simply said,

“You’re no longer here, you’re buried and the worms eat you.”

As an adult, I look back at this moment and realise it was a brutal answer, but in all my innocence I simply pondered further, and decided it could not be true. What, or rather Who, led me to this deliberation? What, or rather Who, helped me decide it was not true? I believe in this moment I encountered the living God, but it would be some time before I would recognize His presence.

Indeed, I can identify many such pivotal moments throughout my life. I have a clear memory of again, playing the violin in my bedroom as a teenager, and feeling something (or Someone) enter my room. It came with a sense of overwhelming love and caused tears as I felt gentle kindness, peace, and joy. I naively thought the music had moved me, so I tried playing the piece again. No matter how earnestly I tried, I could not muster the feeling again. I now know I had encountered the One who is Love in that moment. The Holy Spirit was wooing me to Jesus. Sadly, what I needed was someone to lead me to Him, to explain who Jesus was, but no-one was there to answer my heart’s call.

I understand now I was seeking in all the right places. At 12 years of age, the Gideons gave me a Bible. I tried to read it many times on my own, but to no avail. Over the years, I asked various people to take me to church – friends, neighbours. I attended services of differing expressions with these people, but it would be many more years before someone would point the way to lead me home. I even prayed each night to the God I had not met formally, asking Him to care for my family, those I loved, the hungry, the orphaned, the poor.

Just after my father’s cancer diagnosis, I recall attending a service where a well-known biker preacher called John Smith of the God Squad spoke. I was 19 years old. Deeply moved and wanting prayer for my father, I went forward. Sobbing as I knelt at the altar, in a moment I can now describe as a divine invitation, and I asked God to heal my dad. Yet, in that moment, not a soul asked if I knew Jesus.

My search continued somewhat sporadically. I attended more services, even a midnight Christmas mass at a high Anglican church. Friends of various denominations would promise to pray for me as I sat my law school exams, but never an invitation to know Him came.

I looked, and I searched, knowing there was more, until I came face to face with the One who is Love, and I said, “Yes, I do, yes I do, yes I do!”

I share a little of my story to encourage you. People are waiting for you to show. We hear calls for revival, people are meeting to pray for nations. There is partnering of ministries to train and equip. I now ask –

“Will YOU go?”

I was looking, and ready from the age of 5. It took 18 more years for someone to stop for me. Yes, I was praying as a little girl, and God was with me throughout. However, where were the Christians who could encourage me, guide me and love me as I grew?

I love all the gatherings, the trainings, the prayer meetings, the passion, but I ask you,

“Will you stop for the one like me?”

So I encourage us all – we are in a season of “less is more.” Enter time with God with great intentionality, and then step out and go. Learn how to hear His voice for yourself, and for the Body, but also lean in and listen for His heartbeat of love for the one as you go about your day, too. See the world around you filled with little girls of 5 – searching for a God who she wanted to meet. Stop judging those little ones as they become the teenager, for I was looking then too, and I met some harsh unkind Christians as I made unwise choices in my life. If someone had reached out to me, they could have prevented so much sadness and damage.

As you call for revival to come to the churches, are you looking beyond the four walls? Or will you be busy doing the “stuff” while people outside are seeking? Can you hear their hearts’ call?

Psalm 46:10 – “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Matthew 9:37-38 – Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Luke 15:7 – I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

*This is not to say you don’t go as you grow – you do! You enter into time with the Father, and you go! It’s not one or the other – it’s both!

© Beth Kennedy 2024