A few weeks ago I preached on ‘Stir Up Sunday’, the last Sunday before Advent, so called because of the prayer said in Anglican services on that day: “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Today I was reading the book of Haggai, where God moves His people to rebuild the temple and the theme of stirring was there as well. ‘So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.‘ (Haggai 1:14-15)
So often, we need God to stir our hearts and spirits into action. Apathy, indifference, busyness, fear, hurt… all these things can conspire to keep us inert and inactive. But when God stirs our hearts and spirits, we are spurred into action. As we prepare for the Christmas market outreach this week, may our hearts be stirred by God to reach out with the good news of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.