Do you know that scene in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where Gene Wilder was taking his visitors for a ride on a boat.  It started out pleasant and peaceful but continued to go faster and faster until it felt nearly out of control?

Yeah…   that’s what I feel is happening.  When I look towards this next year I see this movie scene in my head.  Only the Lord is driving the boat, all is really going as it should, but things in the Spirit are moving faster and faster and faster.   It’s important that we keep our eyes fixed upon Him as things speed up.  If we look at things around us we will give opportunity to fear.

I believe the Lord is quickly putting people in place.  It’s like a fast paced checkers game where He’s setting the stage for something big.  He doesn’t have time to waste, so things are picking up speed.  I hear Him asking us to please hold on to Him tightly because He needs to put us in place to accomplish His purposes.  We really have no idea what’s coming, and that’s o.k.  Our plans will be falling by the wayside as we see His plans unfold before us.  Many people will have great moments of decision.  Will you take His plan, or will you fight for your own plan to come forth?  We are often so convinced that our plan is really God’s plan so we hold onto it a bit too tightly.  The Lord will be quickly unfolding His plan before many people this year, and our moment of decision will be defined by our ability to recognize His hand and let go of what we thought we knew.

The other big thing that I keep hearing Him whisper is that there will be many big season changes this year.  I hear Him saying ‘make sure you recognize the season change and move with it not against it.’  Our biggest mistake would be to miss the season change.  We don’t want to find ourselves wearing winter coats in June.  Things we needed in previous seasons are simply unnecessary in the next.  Things that worked before wont work in the new season.  Perspectives will need to change. Relationships will sometimes change.  Priorities must change.  Some things will need to fall away as other things rise to the top.   It feels like the shifting of land mass, like in an earthquake.  We may find our piece of land suddenly in a completely different place.  Shifting the way we think, function, perceive and act will need to be necessary as the season changes (or the land mass shifts places).

Keep moving forward.  Keep your eyes on the goal – which is Christ Himself.  Fix your face like flint.

We’re in for a heck of a ride.