Out of the Well
As I gaze out into the French Riviera, I hear the whispers of His still small voice over this nation … and the rats scurrying beneath me along the rocky coast. When I arrived in France, I stepped off the train of religion and onto the grounds of secularism. I see it and I feel it, but God is not absent.
He’s here in the sun glistening off the waves. He’s here in the beauty of the French tongue. He’s here in the desire for romance. He’s here in the love for literature. He’s here in the value of unity. He’s here in the longing for freedom. He’s here in the eyes of the lost and curious.
God’s intent was never for France to be distant from Him but rather to know and worship Him through their design. For the next two weeks, I would pray into the original design of France, for God’s dreams for this nation to become my dreams, for eyes to see what God is doing here, and to be led by the Spirit to be a part of it.
My heart was set ablaze to see revival in Europe after my first visit to Italy. This part of the world is often a vacation destination rather than a ministry priority. The truth is, physical wealth has nothing to do with spiritual poverty, and France is a ripe harvest awaiting obedient laborers.
I visited the only Evangelical church in the region. Outside of the church walls, I met zero Christians. In speaking with locals, most had no clue the church even existed. As I entered the building though, I was greeted by the familiarity of the Holy Spirit. His Presence was so heavy throughout the service. I sat in the back and cried without even knowing what they were talking about. Hearing the romantic language being used to worship God was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.
It was sitting on that cliff over the Riviera praying for revival in the nation when God took me a step back to reveal another piece of His vision. When I was solely focused on the lost, God opened my eyes to the broken Church and the call to unify. Here, He revealed the urgency for individual hearts to return to Him in complete submission first — a posture where true freedom is found.
“Liberté, égalité, fraternité,” or “liberty, equality, fraternity” is the country’s national motto. It is the root of much of the French culture and values. However, mere intention for morality and sophistication cannot heal the sinful heart or weed out destruction in a nation. All throughout history we’ve seen city after city turn to ruins as a result of man’s unhealed heart. But where a culture values freedom and unity so highly, imagine if that same zeal was brought into the Body of Christ.
During the church service, I pulled out my translator and was astonished to discover the message of the sermon: unity in the Body. If this tiny, hidden church in the South of France was awakened to the call of gathering God’s people, why wasn’t America? How can we be a vessel to expand what God is doing in this church to the rest of France? Across Europe? Across the globe?
One day while on a walk, I came across a glum-looking elderly man who had just finished a day’s worth of sailing. I approached him and felt the Holy Spirit’s nudge to ask him if he knew Jesus. I keep a note on my phone with written phrases to be able to talk about God in other languages when the door opens. The man enjoyed my inability to correctly pronounce French words but understood the message of the Gospel. Throughout the conversation, I watched the dull in his eyes brighten. After telling him about the local church and praying with him, he said goodbye with a big smile and hug. As I began to walk away, a group of teenagers stopped me to ask what I was talking about with that man. Their native tongue was Xhosa, so I was able to again use the pre-made note on my phone. They were excited and asked me to pray with them as well. Then, when leaving that group, I was stopped yet again by two people, whose Arabic language I also conveniently had in my notes. The curiosity and searching in this nation resulted in a domino effect for evangelism.
Through the eyes of those living in France, I see revival on its way. The joy and peace that radiated from them after hearing the “bonne nouvelle” (good news) revealed what’s lacking in their hearts. They are hungry. The harvest is ripe.
“Of all the problems that beset France at the moment, they could be solved by a great spiritual awakening” (Billy Graham, 1954).
The first step toward revival anywhere is the realization of need. It is the revelation that your efforts are not bringing you the freedom, purpose, and joy you’re aiming for. We not only need a redemption of the heart but a redemption of the mind as well. Our minds corrupt us and our folly brings our ruin. As I prayed about the original design of France, I saw a well, and springing out of it was a generation of teachers and leaders.
I saw a nation leading the Church in loving God with all their heart, soul, and mind. True love for God is dedicating our minds to knowing Him and then handing those thoughts off to your affections; moving from awareness to embrace. What plagues our churches today is when believers are satisfied with simply knowing who He is and not moving to intimacy with Him. In the same way, meeting Him in emotion without a foundation of truth is building a house on the sand.
I see France calling forth the Church in the deep revelation of who God is, walking in submission to the authority of the Scriptures, and living in intimacy and union with Him. Where we’ve lost the reverence of the Word in society I believe God is calling France into humble leadership — to steward relationship and doctrine; spirit and truth.
Having a sober-minded and clear understanding of who the Bible says He is weeds out fears, doubts, deceit, false theologies, and idols because you are grounded in truth. You cannot fully submit to a God you don’t know, which is why we have so many believers still operating under their own authority. Our society is in dire need of something unwavering to grasp onto, but we must connect the knowledge of Him to romance with Him.
If your knowledge of Him hasn’t spilled into intimacy and surrender, you are still being bound by chains of deceit. A glimpse of His omnipotence and love will bring a generation to their knees in adoration and submission.
I saw this part of the Body honoring the authority and value of the Bible, and embracing that authority to call us into full submission. On their knees is where France will find the true freedom they crave, and on our knees is where we are called to shepherd flocks.
My craving is to be gathered around the throne hearing “abba pére, je suis à toi” (Abba Father I am yours). My dream is that the country of love would encounter Love Himself.
Prayer requests:
- For boldness to come over Eglise Antibes Côte D’Azur church to spread the Gospel throughout their region.
- For the renewing of the French mind, and that God would raise of a generation of teachers and leaders who would walk in spirit and in truth.
- For a stirring in the hearts of missionaries all over the world to go to France in response to the Great Commission.
- For Jacques, a missionary in France working to bring the Jewish population to Jesus. He told me that it is especially difficult for their hearts to be softened because of France’s past in antisemitism towards the Jewish people. He asked for prayer that more people would join his ministry team. He has a team working in Paris but he is the only missionary in the South of France.
