Paul's Tsunami

Paul’s Tsunami

8/25/15

A total change from the foundation upwards is what our lives need in order for us to fulfill the command of God to be completely separate from the world.  There are many terrible examples in the world today of where this type of change has not occurred, with only a few examples that demonstrate the opposite.  Sometimes these total changes are necessary and while they may be required they do inflict an enormous amount of destruction in order to complete.  We do have a great example of this in the Bible and if we look at our lives with a large enough scope we will find that everyone else can have this changing opportunity as well.

Since humans do not like to learn from their own histories, history loves to repeat itself in various ways.  What many people do not feel is important is that God is the author of history, the present and future which entitles Him to be at the origins of everything, including human history.  Not only do humans love to ignore history we also like to ignore God’s history book as well; you know, the one book that has all the answers we humans need to survive.

There is an interesting story in the New Testament where Saul is converted into a Christian and God changing his name to Paul. There are many striking features about this story and one of them that stand out brightly is of the complete change that Saul endured while God was gripping his heart.  It is a moving story and one that should be taken and studied by every Christian because it is through this process that God gets a hold of people.  It is this type of change that God has to perform in our lives to separate us from what the world deems as normal or “ok”.  And it is this life changing experience that God has to sometimes destroy us all the way down to our foundation so that He may restore us in the correct manner.

I have written about the two massive tsunamis that have occurred in our recent past.  The 2004 tsunami that devastated many countries throughout the Asian and African continents destroyed many homes, land and lives.  It was dubbed the Christmas tsunami since it occurred the day after Christmas of that year.  It was responsible for killing over 230,000 people with many never to be found after being swept out to sea when the water receded back to its original place.  Shorelines throughout Indonesia were completely changed with many of the properties and buildings that lined the coast being either destroyed or foundationally insecure after the water damage had dissipated.  Recently, God shared with us that no one felt that shaking underneath the ocean waters but even though it was a clear sunny day, the destruction still occurred.

Another horrific tsunami occurred in 2011 and this time it struck the island of Japan.  This event was just as destructive as the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and it did just as much damage or maybe even more, this time without the gross multitudes of lives lost as in Indonesia.  Today, Japan still has structures that are struggling to stay active and online with some of these structures proving to be complicated to restore.  Some of these structures and lives may never be fully restored, simply because of the damage that has been done.  Yet, this act, as with the Indonesian tsunami, could not have been prevented.  It was an act that one has to contend with while living on this earth.  It is ok to be amazed at such force at this type of event, it is also ok to pray for those who endure such a tragedy, but none of us can ever rule out that we may one day face such a severe condition, directly or indirectly.

We must remember that some of nature’s disasters can be predicted or forecasted, allowing time for us to prepare or leave the area before they strike.  All was fine those two horrific days that changed those two countries’ perspectives on life.  In Indonesia, tourists were soaking up the sun and loving the fact they were having a Christmas without the cold and winter like conditions of their native lands.  The Friday that the tsunami struck Japan many were looking forward to a quiet weekend with their normal activities being fulfilled.  All nations involved in these disasters were not suspect in any ill alarms until that exact moment that the reality of the earth’s activity reached their shores. 

One can gaze at the pictures of these disasters and claim its devastating effects on the nations but what one must also see is that even though some of the properties are still intact, they too have to be restored since any type of water damage affects all structures right down to the foundations of those buildings, so even though some buildings remained intact they too must be torn down and began anew from the foundation upwards.

There is something similar about these tragedies and how a person changes, or at least how they should change.  It has been proven over and over that if humans are in charge of changing or in changes, things get messed up pretty quick.  Humans tend to leave certain areas in their lives that are comfort zones and areas that they do not wish to give up which in turn defeats the purpose of change.  If one is honest with themselves, if they change they must change the entire life in order for the change to work.  If they do not do this complete change, it will not be too long until the same routines and habits return in force, but this time these habits will present themselves with more “friends”.

A while back I was able to see for myself how the power of water works through a simple experiment I conducted and while it was on a very small scale compared to a large tsunami the same type of effects were in play.  For a number of years, my family and I lived out in the country.  Our watering system was supplied by an irrigation ditch and we would be able to water our garden and lawn whenever we needed.  It was not a large ditch as the large acres of farmland needed, but it was an average sized ditch that gave us the necessary water.  The ditch ran right behind our house and was easily accessible. 

To block off the water so that we could irrigate our garden and lawn we would simply put up two wooden boards that had been cut to size so that they would fit on the head and would back up the water and divert it to our pipes for our use.  It was not hard to operate and the water would flow into the pipes fast enough to make sure that the remaining water in the ditch would not over flow the edges of the ditch, a simple yet ingenious system. 

For whatever reason, one day I decided to play around and conduct a simple experiment with the water gate.  The yard really did not need watering but there was water in the ditch so I placed the boards into their spaces and allowed the running water fill up the gate.  It did not take long for the water to reach its intended level and so it began to filter through the pipes and run into the yard.  As I stood there watching the water level rise, I had already placed my hand into the water and was ready to pull the boards from their spaces.  Now, I had performed this act countless times before but until this specific time I had not even watched what the water response was when I pulled the boards away from their spaces, nor did I leave my hand in the water long enough to feel the pressure that the water was putting on the boards as it continued to flow down the ditch and back up.

When I pulled the top board from its spot I immediately felt the force of the water on my arm and hand and it was all I could manage to raise the board out of the water and keep it in my hand as well.  I also looked at the level of the water that was now receding unabated into the larger ditch below the gate.  I was amazed at how much energy this small amount of water created after it began to move from its stored place.  It was then that I stopped and stood there for a moment and contemplated just how much energy and force water can give way.  Every once-in-a-while I just like to run water on my hand and feel the force against it, just from the sink faucet that force can be felt.  It is this type of pressure, in a great magnitude that leads to objects or structures to be damaged and with the content of water on these structures or objects, requires a restoration process that may even include a new foundation.

A fabulous example of this type of true change comes from the story of Saul and how God got a hold of his life and changed him in every way possible.  Saul was a man who had great standing within the Jewish community and he was greatly feared among numerous groups of the area simply because of the power he held within this community.  But in order for us to understand how Saul’s conversion proceeded and to the extent that God had to change his life, a good example is needed to demonstrate this effect and God has given me the example of a tsunami.

As stated above a tsunami is a powerful force and body of water that has an origin and a destination.  The origin of this tsunami wave comes from a distance away and like any other event that has an origin it can be close by or far off.  Depending upon how high the waves are a tsunami can reach a few yards inland or it can stretch into large portions of land but if God is performing a life changing experience in a person’s life I can guarantee that His overflowing of change is going to be complete.  This example is one that should be understood not only on an individual level but a national level as well; ponder this for a moment.

Saul had no problems in life.  He was thrilled to have the clout, power and recognition he had through the job that he had.  It gave him great pleasure to serve the Jewish community in this manner of locating and then persecuting Christians who represented a huge threat to the Jewish leaders of that time.  Saul had no qualms about executing or handing people over to the higher authorities to be executed, for he saw it as his duty to rid the community of such blasphemous lives.  Saul had then been given an order to go and to find and bring back more people that had been accused of being Christians and in order to get there he had to travel the road to Damascus.

It was here that God reached Saul and changed his live forever.  Saul made it known that he had no problems carrying out his orders which meant that his heart had reached a point to even if he heard the pleading and the begging words from those who he caught it meant nothing to him.  It was here that God performed a miracle in Saul, so powerful that it knocked him off his horse and was so complete that it blinded him for a time.  It was then that God revealed Himself to Saul in a unique way and performed a tsunami that changed both Saul’s internal life and external life at the same time.

God performed this changing in the form of a spiritual tsunami so powerful that as it knocked Saul off his horse it also blinded him until his conversation and conversion were complete.  God had a plan for Saul and it did not include him killing anyone, either in the name of God or through any other name.  God’s plan for Saul’s life was to present the gospel of Jesus to a dying world being played out by people like him on a second by second basis.  God had to completely change Saul’s heart and mind. He had to be restored in a supernatural way so that his message to people would be one of eternal life and not assured death. Saul was the perfect person to complete this task for he understood both sides of the aisle and through God’s restoration knew what was truly at stake.

There was no way that Saul could have effectively told people about God unless he experienced God’s method of changing him.  A subtle hint or slight hint of manipulation would not cut it.  God knew just what could occur if Saul was allowed to continue his missions for the Jewish community and the Roman State, so God had to act like God and completely rearrange Saul’s life.  God changed Saul’s name to Paul giving him a fresh start with a new recognizable name to God.  His eyesight was supernaturally restored after the spiritual tsunami waters receded from Paul’s inner being.  The force behind God’s tsunami was mind boggling to Paul, it had to be.  This is evident through the mannerisms in which Paul wrote to and taught the churches of the day.

One matter of importance that Paul knew about and taught was the importance of God through destruction and how vital it is to have Him on one’s side when it comes.  Paul pointed out this fact in many of the letters he wrote to the churches, addressing all of the divisional issues that each was facing and the consequences of those offenses if they did not allow God to totally change their ways.  The churches knew about Saul and they knew what God did in his life to convert Saul into Paul; this had to weigh upon their hearts to some extent.  Paul allowed God to restore him and to rebuild him in the manner that God saw fit.  Yes, there must have been things that Paul struggled with through this process, for one has to keep in mind that he was responsible for numerous deaths.  But it was the tsunami that God performed in Paul’s life that gave him the authority to fulfill what God wanted for his life.

What does this have to do with us today?  I have been writing for approximately three years now with the message of restoration.  As I have stated many times before, up until I began writing these articles I could not stand to write, I found no pleasure or reason why to write, but God changed me on that issue and now I write continually.  Anytime a person allows God to infiltrate their life He will do it, completely.  Ask anyone who has truly experienced God and they will tell you that it is a life changing experience that totally changes the insides of your life.  The patterns of the past must be taken out completely, not partially.  The ways of the world need to be washed away completely, no exceptions or spots can remain.  In all cases the structures that the world has built in your life need to be torn down, completely, and only God can do this with His unique way.

There is no way that Saul could not have encountered people crying for mercy when he was completing his mission for the Roman Empire and Jewish community.  There was no way that he did not have questions posed to him about his job, about God and about Christ before he turned those people over to the authorities.  Those questions, people and situations had to ring through his head because it is proven that even serial murderers have thoughts of this nature.  These were Saul’s warnings before God had to personally grab him.  And while Saul ignored these warnings and continued performing his job immaculately, God still had given him time before He took over.

It is difficult to accurately pinpoint a specific date of when our nation turned enough away from God that He decided to give us warnings large enough that we should have figured some things out.  But these warnings came and went and we did nothing but rebuild ourselves stronger and higher without God being the center; in other words our rebuilding was just that and not a restoration.  We have taken many steps in our society to ensure that our physical wants are fulfilled and we have passed laws enabling these choices to be made readily available on demand, all without God being considered and it is through this setting that God must now bring upon us a tsunami that will once and for all set the record straight about who actually is in control and who our lives belong to.

I do not know if this tsunami will be an actual tsunami that hits our lands or not, but I do know that the conditions and the placement of what some prophecies have stated line us up for such a devastating event.  To be honest, I believe that something to this nature shall occur for one of the first writings that God gave me was entitled “The Human Shaking Syndrome” and it described a setting in which every heart in this country would be shaken to its core.  And for this type of setting to occur, something large and almost indescribable has to have unfolded.

For instance, in 2001 three things occurred when the twin towers were attacked.  People were involved, land was involved and finances were involved.  In 2008 when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed three things were involved, land, people and finances.  Both of those years were Shemitah years and both events occurred on the very day that the Shemitah year ended. 2015 is another Shemitah year and it is about to end on 13 September. 

I have no idea of what may occur but I do know that God is a complete God and that He keeps His word no matter what humanity tries to interpret differently.  With all of the sinful patterns that we have made law in this country and the warnings that we have deliberately ignored along with the timing of the Jewish calendar, it would not surprise me if God provides us with a earth shaking tsunami to destroy our worldly structures so that He may once again restore our lives for His purpose.  I do not know exactly what will occur, or if anything will occur but I will be very surprised if nothing does come about of this time. 

The financial markets are already setting records in the wrong direction, the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.  The only question that remains is this: will we have learned as to why this event has occurred or will we continue to follow our own selfish ways?  Paul’s spiritual tsunami serves as the perfect setting for what God needs to do in our lives in order for us to return to His ways.  This process may be just an internal one or it may be both an internal and physical setting.  I guess we shall soon witness which is true.

DLB