A Great Awakening

Last night we attended the memorial service for Baby Samuel. As in most cases at Desperation Church, things were a bit different. This memorial service was like none I had ever been to before.

During the visitation time, there was a slideshow going with pictures of Samuel and the Allen family interpersed with messages from people who had written to share how Baby Samuel had impacted them during his short time on this earth.


Then, once the actual service began, one of our pastors shared a brief summary of Samuel's life. He explained how the Allen's family utmost desire was for God to be glorified and for all of us to use the momentum Samuel's life stirred up to keep seeking after God with an earnestness and passion and a sense of urgency. What better way to do that then to come together and worship our Jesus?! And so, for the next hour we sang our hearts out.


Not just any songs either, but serious praise songs. Songs that helped us remember that God is indeed good and that we can trust Him at all times. Songs like "It Is Well with My Soul" and "How Great Is Our God."


After every few songs, a Scripture passage would be on the screen for us to meditate on. Verses like Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." And then Lamentations 3:32-33, "Though He briefs grief, He will bring compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring grief or affliction to anyone."


It wasn't a part of the service, but I this reminded me of another passage earlier in Lamentations, "I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD."


Next, we sang "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?" The words were so fitting, for many reasons: They speak of Jesus Christ, the risen one, and here we are just days from Easter. They tell of people all over the world raising up to praise Jesus, which is exactly what happened because of Samuel's life. They remind us that God is at work; He is moving; He will prevail over Satan and all his evil schemes!

So yes, shout it out:

Did you feel the mountains tremble?

Did you hear the oceans roar?

When the people rose to sing of Jesus Christ the risen one

Did you feel the people tremble?

Did you hear the singers roar?

When the lost began to sing of Jesus Christ the risen one

And we can see that God you're moving

A mighty river through the nations

And young and old will turn to Jesus

Fling wide your heavenly gates

Prepare the way of the risen Lord

Open up the doors and let the music play

Let the streets resound with singing

Songs that bring your hope

Songs that bring your joy

Dancers who dance upon injustice

Did you feel the darkness tremble?

When all the saints join in one song

And all the streams flow as one river

To wash away our brokeness

And here we see that God you're moving

A time of Jubilee is coming

When young and old return to Jesus

Fling wide your heavenly gates

Prepare the way of the risen Lord

That's right, Satan. You thought this situation would cause us to turn against God, to doubt Him, to question His love for us. You schemed and plotted, just like you did with Job so long ago. Well, you should have remembered out that worked out for ya! You tried the same sneaky, dirty trick when Stephen was matyred, thinking you would put a stop to the spread of the gospel. Once again you were dead wrong! The believers fled, but they took the good news of Jesus' love with them, and more people than ever before trusted in Christ as their Lord and Savior. You should have learned by now that your plans never work.

They will always fail.

You will always lose.

Just like you did today!

So take that, Satan. Punch him in the face. Then in the ribs. Now, GO AWAY! Kicking him one last time, just for good measure. AND DON'T COME BACK!

At least that is what I was thinking as I sang the song.

God seemed to confirm my thoughts as I read Psalm 98 this morning.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

for he has done wonderful deeds.

His right hand has won a mighty victory;

his holy arm has shown his saving power!

The Lord has announced his victory

and has revealed his righteousness to every nation!

He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel.

The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

1 Samuel 1:28 was on the screen after that, "So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.

Then, we sang "I Lay It Before You," and I watched as Grace (Samuel's mom) moved to the back of the room and literally laid it all before the Lord. She danced for her Savior, arms lifted, her beautiful voice raised, as she gave all her pain to Jesus, as she trusted Him with all that has happened. I lost it. I was already crying, but I was deeply, deeply moved. If Grace, who just lost her 3 week old son, can sing those words with sincerity, then surely I can too.

"You Never Let Go" was next. So good to be reminded that even when things are so hard, and it feels like you are free falling, about ready to land on the jagged rocks below, that God has not let go of you, that He never will. I have to trust that God has a plan in all of this, a purpose that is beyond what I can see and understand at the moment. I have to believe that He will indeed "finish this good work that He began" and "work everything out for good." Those verses seem so cliche at a time like this, but I know they are true. But that doesn't make it any easier right now, in the midst of the pain and heartache. And so we wait, and watch, for God to reveal Himself. When He does, we will be blown away.

Psalm 46:1 promises and reassures us, "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble."

Knowing this, and believing it, we can sing, "We Will Worship You." Again, I lost it. As I was singing, pouring my heart out to God, I looked down and there beside me was Coralyn doing the same thing. She had her arms lifted up, and she was praising Jesus right along with us as she too sang, "I will worship."

Right after that we sang, "Here in Your Presence," and once again the words were so fitting. As we came into God's presence, through song, I couldn't help but think of how Baby Samuel is the physical presence of God, sitting on Jesus' lap listening to us sing. Oh yes, Heaven and Earth have become one. And all things are new; Samuel has been given a new body and is completely healed, in every way.

Found in Your hands, fullness of joy

Every fear suddenly wiped away

here in Your presence

All of my gains now fade away

Every crown no longer on display,

here in Your presence

Heaven is trembling in awe of Your wonders

The kings and their kingdom arestanding amazed

Here in Your presence, we are undone

Here in Your presence,

Heaven and Earth become one

Here in Your presence, all things are new

Here in Your presence, everything bows before You

Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchless in every way

Wonderful, beautiful, glorious, matchlessin every way

With this in mind, we can believe what David wrote in Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed."

And we can sing, "Oh How He Loves Us."

We ended the service with the reminder once again that "You Never Let Go."

Then, we all headed outside to the front lawn. Each of us were given a balloon, which we would release all together in just a moment. I had heard of that before, but this was different and special. Inside each balloon was a seed, so that when the balloons landed and popped, the seed would take root and a new life would begin. It was symbolic of what the Allens wanted more than anything: for Samuel's legacy to bring about a "Great Awakening" as people turned to God for the first time or renewed their love for Him and begin to live for Him in a radical, all-out way.

Right before we let go of our balloons, Grace shared how she had prayed over and over again for God to "wake Samuel up," and He kept answering her, "Look at how many people I am waking up." Because of Samuel, people came to God, desperate for Him to act. Our faith was strengthened. We grew bold. We sensed our total need for Jesus. We grew closer as a family of believers. So many good things happened. God did indeed wake us up! And the Allens pray that we will never never go back, that we won't go back to sleep, now that Samuel isn't with us.

Romans 13:11-12 challenge us, "And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."

As Paul also reminded us in Ephesians,

“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,

making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.

Instead, be filled with the Spirit,

speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.

Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Samuel, even in his short life, was a mighty warrior for our God. He came ready for war. He was born to do battle, and he fought hard on the front lines. And he won a huge victory for the Lord. Fittingly, a friend of the Allen family painted a picture with Samuel dressed in his armor.

May we learn from this precious little boy. May we follow his example.

May we:

"Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on all of God’s armor

so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies,

but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world,

against mighty powers in this dark world,

and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor

so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.

Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Stand your ground,

putting on the belt of truth

and the body armor of God’s righteousness.

For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News

so that you will be fully prepared.

In addition to all of these,

hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

Put on salvation as your helmet,

and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.

Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."