Back in 1994, through one to one ministry from the late Rev. Jim Graham at a point where the congregation I led was at a high point of fruitfulness and I was at my lowest ebb by contrast, I had an experience of the Father heart of God that stays with me as living truth to this day. I wrote in a notebook, “I think God has told me there is about to be a fresh move of God in the land: the mark of it will be the Father’s kiss for his children, the Father’s love being experienced in power, the Father’s hug.”

Well, within a few weeks, many in many places began to experience that. Out of that arose Kingdom Gathering and then CLAN Gathering through which thousands of weary believers and hundreds of church leaders experienced a fresh touch from God over the years.

Was it all I hoped to see? No…Was it all it was meant to be…I don’t know. Religion is still a powerful negative force within the Scottish Church. Sometimes also, great blessing means responsibilities thereafter. Some leaders I know personally, made the choice not to follow through with what the blessing they received asked of them, for the sake of congregational peace. I am not their judge. I have enough need of mercy for my ministry and leadership to stop me ever becoming that! There may, however, be a cost and a requirement that becomes an unwanted burden on the shoulders of the blessed. But something real happened for some… At least in part I saw a fulfilment of that note jotted down in pencil in 1994.

Well, I think about 6 or 8 weeks ago I have now heard something and seen something else. I don’t yet fully understand it and I am reluctant to say anything about the scope (small, limited, large, mercy drops, a stream, a deluge?) which this may cover. I hope, however, that it encourages hunger and faith – especially among those called to a ministry of intercession – to pray for a new day wherever you gather with God’s people. I hope it may help us to believe for times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord as we continue to humbly live for Him and seek His face day by day.

What I heard was ” The tide has turned ” Nothing more, nothing less than that…

What I saw (a week or two later ) was this: a lightning bolt coming from heaven and hitting a road, representing something powerful but also necessarily and positively destructive.

I do not wish to share all the details at this stage (and may never do so), but I will share a couple of impressions.

Impression 1: lightning will hit specific places and specific people. The choice of God often offends the mind to reveal the heart. Fault finders will say “This cannot be God, ” because of where and upon whom the Spirit falls in fresh measure. They will do their utmost to find a fault in the roots, connections that discredit, to dismiss the fruit as bad. Often pride secretly believes, “If God is doing something new, he will begin it through me/us, for after all we are… we have…”

Pride of experience of the Spirit (charismatic) and of biblical knowledge (evangelical) will be exposed in our own hearts. We approve of “nameless” and “faceless” in theory but won’t necessarily approve of it when our name or church is not in the headlines, especially if our names and churches are well known as big fish in the small pond that is the Scottish Church scene or some of its puddles.

2: Lightning will blow holes in the roads of those of us who feel we have the word or way forward downloaded from the Lord and know the way forward for Scotland and its church(es). We need to be willing for craters to appear in our roads and plans, even for our well worked out plans to be seen as straw. Our visions and ministries may have to die in order to see the Lord’s ministry released. “Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies..”

After the lightning comes the thunder and accompanying rain: fresh hunger leading to a fresh hearing of the voice of the Lord. Those that hear the voice of the Son of God, rising to life, to LIFE! The hearing of the thunder was wider than the striking of the lightning. The thunder can only come because some at least are willing to say “Let the lightning fall on us whatever that may mean and cost.”

I heard of someone’s sermon being described as lava words recently, because it was so full of the presence of God and released much blessing. People powerfully encountered God. As Amy Carmichael said, we can only have lava words when the heart of the mountain is consumed, burned.

” O God of burning, cleansing flame, send the fire!”

When you hear the voice of heavenly thunder (nothing to do with any required volume level or tone, both of which will vary), you can be sure the heart of someone or a gathering of people somewhere has endured the lightning strike in the secret place. Something of self will have been destroyed (the hole in the road) and their own plans surrendered, which was the most definite and identifiable effect of the lightning in what I saw. It could be you, your fellowship; it could be some gathering of people of no reputation, discounted by those who have the reputation of being alive in the Spirit and at the cutting edge: a humble overlooked gathering of folk who fear the Lord, of whom He has said, “They will be mine on the day I act afresh in Scotland.”