A Week of Encounter

“Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence” (Isaiah64:1 NKJV). “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:24).

These two scriptures offer a glimpse into the cry that has been stirring in our hearts as we (our group and those from Herrnhut) have been coming before the Lord in worship this week. On Monday evening, after a work day of practical service, we had a time of worship with just our team. This was an intimate time and brought a great release to our team. We had several young people from the region who were with us as guests this week, and the Holy Spirit encountered each of us in such a powerful way. The Lord really came to encourage and break off heavy burdens and shadows of discouragement that have attempted to trap and torment young men and women of purpose. Not only did our great God come to set us free, but also to set us free into abundant life, into joy, and into the hope of the more that is on offer. After such an encounter on Monday night, we were stirred and ready to go for it every day with our friends here in Herrnhut. During our morning and our evening times of worship, we have cried out for God to come and shake our lives, and His Spirit has brought courage and strengthened our hearts to a greater measure of hope in our LORD. Thursday evening was especially beautiful as one of the Jesus Haus staff played out prophetically on her flute while people were singing the song of the Lord. We are blessed to see the Lord draw his servants into their identity as lovers. And as we continue to live the lifestyle of worship and prayer we have cultivated in Cyprus, we are committed to living out the fullness of what God has placed in us and not relenting until we see the release. Join with us in praying for even greater breakthrough, that every wall and limitation would be completely devastated, and that the German people would be free to arise and shine.

As those of you who have spent time in Cyprus know, our spiritual life does not end in the worship room, but it carries into every aspect and action of our life and day—that scrubbing toilets can be an act of intercession, sanding walls a prophetic picture, and painting benches an expression of worship. This is some of the ways we were blessed to be able to serve the Jesus Haus this week. I was so impressed with the hard work put in by our guests who did not hesitate to commit their energy alongside us. It was a great experience to see the way the community here reaches out to the government workers, most of whom are unbelievers. We started our work day together with a short time of worship followed by an evangelistic testimony. Then we all had breakfast together before setting out for the day’s work. We worked alongside these men and ate with them again at lunch. I was really grateful to see the efforts taken to reach out relationally to them.

During our times of prayer and preparation throughout the year, we received many impressions from the Lord regarding our time here. One particular night in April, the Lord stirred us in a deep way as to His heart for this land, and we began to burn with a vision for what He desires to do. A phrase from that night has become our theme for this trip: “Forgotten Seed: unveiling the treasures of our inheritance.” The seeds of revival have long been in the soil, and though the ground may be hard and cracked, we serve a God who brings streams in the desert. And when the rain of God pours upon this land, those seeds that have lain dormant and silent WILL spring forth from the ground and bear a mighty harvest. We did not want to just have this vision in our heart, but we wanted to “write the vision and make it plain.” We wanted a banner cry to proclaim in faith; thus, through the creative gifts of Rachel F. and our guests Sietske and Livia, we now have that banner to inspire us to greater faith every time we see it. In the picture at the top of this post, you can see our banner and the fire that is in the seed. The seed has mighty roots that are grown deep into God’s love, and it is breaking forth through the ground.

We are driving to Marienberg today, where we will spend the weekend with the church there. We look forward to sharing with you. Also, you can look forward to a soon-coming post about the deeply significant and transforming day we had on Tuesday. It was such a special day; I thought it deserved its own blog post.
Many blessings and Shabbat Shalom,
Hannah for the GBI Germany team