By Jim Golden

However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 1Cr. 15: 46 NKJV

 There is a lot of thought and supposition going on as to whether or not Hurricane Katrina was the judgment of God or just a natural disaster.  Some believe if it was God’s judgment, then it is only the beginning.  I am not sure, but a story from 1 Kings chapter 19 might help us understand the way God prefers to speak:

 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19: 11-12. NKJV 

I believe that the Word of God declares,

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.  1 Pet. 4: 17A. NKJV

When we consider what was left in the wake of Katrina we may get a picture of true revival.  We sing songs and cry out for the floodgates of heaven to be opened, but I wonder if we really understand what we are asking for.  The storm and the flood all dramatically affected the people of the Gulf Coast region.  None of their lives will ever be the same.  Many of them learned to appreciate fresh air for the first time having to breath their own stench for days.  They will never take a drink of fresh water for granted again and their daily bread has become very precious.  Their personal agendas were stripped from them and salvation became their first and only priority.

 I wonder if the face of the coming revival will have the same spiritual outcome as the outpouring of Katrina’s waters.  God’s holiness is what we are asking for and God’s holiness is what we will get.  To the person that has not been established in His New Covenant, no words could define or accurately display its terrible power.  The scripture declares that the demons tremble at His holiness and the mighty Seraphim cover their faces with two wings and their feet with two wings and with two wings they fly and they do not cease to cry out day and night Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts.  I have often thought that their cries were not just a declaration of fact, but a somber warning to all who would approach Him uninvited.

 God is just and His very nature demands judgment, but the outcome will be a new heaven and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells.  We will finally realize the purpose of the New Covenant and our fellowship with Him will be intimate and unbroken.  However, many of us will lose everything we consider valuable, including our personal agendas, ministries and kingdom’s.  I once had a dream of such a time when many men of God were standing in front of their own bonfires, fires burning up the works done by their own designs.  Tears were streaming down their cheeks because of the many years of “wasted” labor.  If we do not learn to wait on the Holy Spirit like never before I am afraid that we will all suffer a like fate, but I believe God is giving us a chance to repent because He is not willing that any should perish, or our works.  He has ordained us to bear much abiding fruit.  Let us consider carefully what steps we take next and work out our salvation with fear and trembling that Jesus Christ may have His perfect and complete work in us.  And let us not grieve the Holy Spirit by which we have been sealed until the day of our redemption.

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