A TIDE IS COMING!

A TIDE IS COMING!

Reading the Spiritual Tide

Tide direction is an important element for any swimmer, boater, or water sports enthusiast to consider before venturing out to the ocean. The physical tide can carry the unwary swimmer out to sea, dash the unprepared vessel against hidden rocks, or strand the careless sailor on sandbars that emerge without warning. Those who respect the sea know that understanding the tide is not optional; it is essential for survival, for success, and for safety. The wise mariner consults the tide tables, observes the currents, and times his journey according to the movement of waters far greater than his own strength. He does not fight the tide; he works with it. He does not ignore its power; he harnesses it for his purposes. He does not presume upon his own abilities; he submits to the greater force that surrounds him.

However, it is not always easy to tell which direction the tide is heading. The surface of the water can be deceptively calm even as powerful currents move beneath. The shoreline can appear stable even as the water level gradually rises or falls. The inexperienced eye sees only the present moment and misses the subtle signs of change that the trained observer recognizes immediately. But you can tell if the tide is coming in or out when the Almighty God chooses to reveal it to His people. This is the difference between natural observation and spiritual discernment. The world relies on instruments, measurements, and predictions based on past patterns. The people of God rely on revelation, on the direct communication of the One who controls the tides, who sets the boundaries of the sea, and who commands the waves with a word. When He chooses to reveal the direction of the spiritual tide, He does so primarily for the welfare of His own people. He always does. God's revelations are not theatrical displays for the curious or esoteric knowledge for the elite. They are practical provisions for the protection, preparation, and prosperity of those who belong to Him. What He reveals, He reveals because His people need to know. What He announces, He announces because His children must be ready. He is a Father who warns His family of approaching storms, a Shepherd who guides His flock away from dangerous currents, and a Captain who informs His crew of the course He has set.

The Prophet's Tide Table

You can tell if the tide is coming in and out by reading a local tide table, since they list the predicted times that the tide will be highest and lowest. These tables are compiled from centuries of observation, from the accumulated wisdom of those who have watched the sea and recorded its rhythms. They are useful, reliable, and necessary for those who navigate earthly waters. But God has His own tide table. He reveals it to His servants, the prophets. The prophet Amos declares with unwavering certainty: "For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets." This is the divine pattern, the established order, the unbroken practice of the God who does not act in secret or spring surprises upon His people. Before He moves in judgment, He sends warning. Before He moves in blessing, He sends promise. Before He shifts the tide from low to high, from retreat to advance, from ebb to flood, He reveals His secret to those who are closest to Him, who will hear His voice, who will speak His word, and who will prepare His people for what is coming.

The prophet's tide table is not compiled from human observation or natural prediction. It is received by divine revelation, inscribed by the finger of God, and delivered by the Spirit's inspiration. It does not merely predict what will happen; it announces what God has determined to do. It does not list times and dates according to human calendars; it declares seasons and purposes according to divine wisdom. The prophet reads the tide table not with natural eyes but with spiritual sight, not with human understanding but with the mind of Christ. And what the prophet sees, he must speak. What the prophet hears, he must proclaim. What the prophet knows, he must declare, for the welfare of the people depends upon their knowing what God has revealed.

The Movement of the Tide

In the time that the tide shifts from its lowest point to its highest point, the tide comes in. The tide goes out during the other time intervals. This is the natural rhythm, the predictable pattern, the ebb and flow that governs the seas of the world. The low tide exposes what the high tide covers. The low tide reveals the rocks, the reefs, and the debris that lie hidden beneath the surface when the waters are full. The low tide creates the appearance of emptiness, of retreat, of diminishment. But the low tide is not the end of the story. It is the preparation for the coming in, the gathering of force, the positioning of waters that will soon return with power, with fullness, and with irresistible momentum.

The spiritual tide follows this same pattern. There are seasons when the waters seem to recede, when the blessings appear to diminish, when the presence of God seems to withdraw, and when the church feels exposed, vulnerable, and stranded on the dry land of spiritual barrenness. These are the low tides, the intervals of waiting, the times of preparation that test faith, refine character, and purify motives. But the low tide does not last forever. The tide turns. The waters gather. The direction shifts. And what was empty becomes full, what was distant becomes near, and what was withheld is poured out with abundance that overwhelms the shore and transforms the landscape.

The Privilege of Advance Knowledge

Fortunately, as Christians, we have the privilege to know ahead of time when the tide is coming. This is not the privilege of superior intelligence, of spiritual elitism, or of exclusive access to hidden information. It is the privilege of relationship, of revelation, and of the prophetic gift that God has placed within His church for the common good. We do not have to be surprised by the shifting tide. We do not have to be caught unprepared by the rising waters. We do not have to be stranded by the returning flood. God reveals, the prophets proclaim, the church hears, and the people prepare. This is the divine order, and it is available to all who have ears to hear, hearts to believe, and wills to obey.

The Loud Cry of Coming Blessing

Here is a loud cry, a prophetic announcement, a Spirit-inspired declaration that demands attention, demands preparation, and demands response. "The tide is coming! The tide is coming!" The repetition is not redundancy; it is urgency. The prophet knows that people are slow to hear, slow to believe, and slow to act. He repeats the message to break through complacency, to penetrate deafness, and to rouse the sleeping from their slumber. The tide is not merely approaching; it is already in motion. It has already shifted its position. The low point has passed. The turning has occurred. The waters are gathering, moving, advancing with a force that cannot be stopped, cannot be diverted, and cannot be resisted.

It is coming in a force unimaginable. This is not a gentle ripple, a minor swell, or a modest increase. This is a tidal wave of divine purpose, a flood of spiritual power, a tsunami of heavenly grace that will overwhelm every obstacle, every barrier, and every opposition. The force is unimaginable because it exceeds human calculation, surpasses natural explanation, and transcends the limits of what the mind can conceive or the heart can anticipate. It is the force of Almighty God, the power that raised Christ from the dead, the energy that created the universe from nothing, and the might that sustains all things by the word of His promise.

Many people would imagine it to be bad. This is the natural response of those who do not know the heart of God, who do not understand His ways, and who judge His movements by their own limited perspective. A powerful tide threatens the status quo. It disturbs the settled. It disrupts the comfortable. It washes away what has been built on sand and exposes what has been hidden beneath the surface. Those who have invested in the low tide, who have built their lives on the exposed shore, who have grown comfortable with the emptiness and the barrenness, will see the coming tide as a threat, a danger, a disaster to be feared and resisted.

But know this, it is a good tide. This is the prophetic interpretation, the divine perspective, the revelation that transforms fear into faith and trembling into triumph. It is good because it comes from God. It is good because it serves His purposes. It is good because it advances His kingdom, builds His church, and blesses His people. The tide that seems destructive to the natural eye is creative in the divine plan. The tide that washes away is also the tide that brings in. The tide that exposes is also the tide that covers with blessing. It is a good tide because God is good, and everything that flows from His hand is ultimately for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

The Transforming Purpose of the Coming Tide

It is coming to turn around the landscapes and to shape the way it should be. The tide does not merely raise the water level; it transforms the terrain. It erodes what should be eroded. It deposits what should be deposited. It carves channels where water should flow. It creates harbors where vessels should rest. It shapes the coastline according to a design that is greater than the temporary arrangements of the present moment. The spiritual tide that is coming will turn around the landscapes of our lives, our churches, our nations, and our world. It will reshape what has been misshapen, restore what has been broken, and reconfigure what has been distorted by sin, by circumstance, and by the passing of time.

Many people shall be affected by it. The tide does not discriminate. It touches everything in its path. It reaches the high and the low, the near and the far, the prepared and the unprepared. Those who have built on rock will stand. Those who have built on sand will fall. Those who have anchored deeply will hold. Those who have drifted loosely will be carried away. The effect of the tide is universal, but the response to the tide is individual. Each person, each church, each community will be affected, and each will respond according to what they have built, where they have anchored, and how they have prepared.

Many people shall rejoice. This is the promise that shines through the prophetic announcement like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. Despite the force, despite the change, despite the upheaval that the tide will bring, the ultimate result is joy. Not sorrow. Not despair. Not defeat. But rejoicing. The rejoicing of those who see the purposes of God fulfilled. The rejoicing of those who witness the transformation they have long prayed for. The rejoicing of those who emerge from the flood not merely surviving but thriving, not merely enduring but triumphing, not merely intact but more glorious than before.

The Specific Works of the Tide

For there is a shaping, a reversing, a turning around of all that have beset, of all that have put, the people in misery. The tide brings three specific works of God, three divine actions that address the deepest needs of His people. There is a shaping, the forming and fashioning of lives, of circumstances, and of destinies according to the divine design. What has been malformed by sin, by suffering, and by the pressures of a broken world will be shaped by the hand of God into something beautiful, something useful, something that reflects His glory. There is a reversing, the turning back of what has gone wrong, the undoing of what the enemy has done, and the restoration of what has been lost. The curse is reversed. The defeat is reversed. The decline is reversed. What was falling rises. What was retreating advances. What was dying lives. There is a turning around of all that have beset, of all that have put, the people in misery. The besetting sins, the besetting circumstances, the besetting oppressions that have weighed down, held back, and worn out the people of God will be turned around. The misery will be replaced by joy. The bondage will be replaced by freedom. The despair will be replaced by hope. The tide does not merely raise the water; it raises the people. It does not merely transform the landscape; it transforms the lives of those who inhabit the landscape.

The Call to Rejoice and Pray

The prophetic announcement concludes with the apostolic exhortation drawn from the letter to the Philippians, the word of Scripture that provides the proper response to the coming tide. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." This is not a suggestion for the naturally optimistic or a command for the spiritually elite. It is the universal call to every believer who has heard the prophetic word, who has understood the coming tide, and who knows that God is working for their good. Rejoice always, not because circumstances are always pleasant, but because the Lord is always present, always faithful, and always working His purposes in the midst of every situation. Again I will say, rejoice. The repetition emphasizes the urgency, the necessity, and the absolute nature of this command. In the face of the coming tide, with all its force, all its change, and all its upheaval, the response of the believer must be rejoicing. Not fear. Not anxiety. Not resistance. But rejoicing, because the tide is from God, the tide is good, and the tide is coming to accomplish what could never be accomplished by human effort or human wisdom.

"Let your reasonableness be known to everyone." In the midst of the excitement, the anticipation, and the profound changes that the tide will bring, the believer is called to maintain reasonableness, gentleness, and a spirit that is considerate of others. The coming tide is not an excuse for fanaticism, for extremism, or for behavior that discredits the gospel. It is a call to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit, to walk in wisdom toward outsiders, and to let the beauty of Christ's character shine through every response to every circumstance.

"The Lord is at hand." This is the foundation of confidence, the source of peace, and the reason for joy. The Lord is near. He is not distant, detached, or delayed. He is at hand, present, involved, and actively working in the very midst of His people. The tide is not an impersonal force; it is the movement of the Lord Himself, the evidence of His presence, and the demonstration of His power.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Anxiety is the natural response to overwhelming change, to unpredictable circumstances, and to forces beyond our control. But the believer who knows the Lord, who trusts His promises, and who has heard the prophetic word does not respond with anxiety. He responds with prayer. He brings everything to God, not in panic but in praise, not in desperation but in thanksgiving, not in complaint but in confident petition. Prayer is the antidote to anxiety. Thanksgiving is the atmosphere of faith. And the result is promised: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." The peace that comes from God is not the peace of circumstance; it is the peace of His presence. It surpasses all understanding because it defies all explanation. It guards the heart and the mind, protecting the innermost being from the fears, the doubts, and the confusions that the coming tide might otherwise generate. This peace is in Christ Jesus, anchored in His person, secured by His work, and maintained by His Spirit.

The tide is coming. It has already shifted. It is coming with unimaginable force. It is a good tide, a transforming tide, a tide that will shape, reverse, and turn around everything that has brought misery to God's people. Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks. And let the peace of God guard your heart and your mind as you watch the waters rise, the landscape change, and the purposes of Almighty God unfold in glory and grace.