A holy longing for His nearness

The language of Scripture speaks of seasons when the Lord draws near in unusual ways. Israel rejoiced when people said, God has visited His people (Luke 7:16). Ruth heard that the LORD had attended to His people with bread, and she moved toward Bethlehem with hope in her heart (Ruth 1). The church has always lived with that same longing, not for spectacle but for the Savior Himself.

This longing is not vague sentiment. It is rooted in God’s own pattern and promises. He sees, He hears, He comes down, and He acts. He does this in mercy and in judgment, to deliver, to refine, and to send His people in mission.

Tracing the pattern of divine visitation

From the beginning, God has intervened in history. He appeared at Mamre, He remembered His covenant, and He came down to deliver Israel from Egypt. Scripture records this steady pulse of a God who draws near.

- Exodus: I have come down to deliver them (Exodus 3:8).

- Bethlehem: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people (Luke 1:68).

- Nain and beyond: God has visited His people (Luke 7:16).

- The warning outside Jerusalem’s walls: the time of your visitation (Luke 19:44).

This is the storyline of Scripture. He visits in famine and feeds, in slavery and frees, in exile and restores, in silence and speaks. He visits in the fullness of time in the person of His Son.

The supreme visitation: God with us

The incarnation is the climactic visitation. In Jesus, God walked among us, healed the sick, taught with authority, bore our sins, rose again, and poured out the Spirit. Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Sunrise will visit us from on high, to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace (Luke 1:78–79).

The cross and resurrection secure this nearness forever, and Pentecost applies it personally and corporately. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and by His Spirit He still draws near, sanctifies, and sends.

Visitation in mercy and in judgment

Divine visitation brings comfort and also holy fear. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they did not recognize the time of your visitation (Luke 19:44). To receive Him is life; to refuse Him is loss.

Holiness becomes nonnegotiable under His searching presence. Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). His mercy revives the contrite, and His discipline purifies the church, so that His name is honored and His mission advances.

How God visits His people now

He visits by His Spirit, according to His Word, exalting His Son, and advancing His gospel. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (John 14:18). Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20).

Marks of true visitation include:

- Conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).

- Christ exalted in preaching, prayer, song, and sacrament (John 12:32; 1 Corinthians 11:26).

- Devotion to the apostles’ teaching and to prayer, not novelty (Acts 2:42).

- Obedience and holiness empowered by grace (Titus 2:11–12).

- Deepened love and unity in the body (John 13:34–35).

- Compassion that overflows in evangelism and mercy (Matthew 9:36–38; Acts 1:8).

- Fruit that remains, especially conversions: And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:21).

- Both brokenness and gladness: Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You (Psalm 85:6).

Preparing the way of the Lord

Preparation is itself an act of faith. Prepare the way of the LORD (Isaiah 40:3). God delights to draw near to those who draw near to Him. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

Concrete pathways of preparation:

- Humble repentance and corporate confession, trusting His promise: if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

- Persevering intercession that refuses to faint. Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night (Luke 18:7).

- Reconciled relationships and quick obedience in matters of conscience (Matthew 5:23–24; Psalm 119:60).

- Self-examination and reverent participation at the Lord’s Table. Each one must examine himself (1 Corinthians 11:28).

- Breaking up fallow ground, by seeking the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on you (Hosea 10:12).

- Re-centering the Lord’s Day, the public reading of Scripture, and gathered prayer (1 Timothy 4:13; Hebrews 10:25).

- Practical mercy, generosity, and justice as overflow, not performance (Isaiah 58).

Recognizing and receiving a visitation

The heart that receives Him is both discerning and teachable. God has visited His people (Luke 7:16) becomes not only a declaration but a posture.

- Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test all things. Hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:19–21).

- Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1).

- Embrace both order and fire, because God is not a God of disorder, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).

- Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, watching over them with vigilance and tenderness (1 Peter 5:2).

- Receive conviction without defensiveness, and receive comfort without complacency, for times of refreshing come from His presence (Acts 3:19–21).

Ordinary channels, extraordinary grace

Visitations often flow through ordinary obedience. Homes open. Tables fill. Bibles are read and obeyed. Neighbors are loved. Seeds are sown with tears and reaped with joy.

- Establish rhythms of family worship, hospitality, and neighborly care (Deuteronomy 6:6–9; Romans 12:13).

- Equip saints for everyday witness, and pray for a door for the word (Colossians 4:3–6).

- Multiply disciple-making relationships that entrust the gospel to faithful men and women who in turn teach others (2 Timothy 2:2).

- Expect God to meet gathered churches and to spill over into streets and workplaces (Acts 2–4; 11:21).

Living in the hope of the final visitation

Every fresh visitation is a preview of the Day when He appears. We await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). On that day He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed (2 Thessalonians 1:10).

Readiness is the Christian posture. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour (Matthew 25:13). Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).

So what do we do now

Lift up your eyes and your hands. Ready your homes and your churches. Cleanse what must be cleansed, repair what must be repaired, and open every door to His Word and Spirit. When He visits, welcome Him without delay, and follow wherever He leads, for His glory and the salvation of many.

God’s visitation language spans mercy and judgment. Joseph said God will visit you and bring you up from this land, anticipating exodus deliverance (Genesis 50:24–25). Jesus lamented that Jerusalem did not recognize the time of your visitation (Luke 19:44). Peter calls believers to live honorably so that outsiders glorify God on the day He visits, linking holy lives with evangelistic impact (1 Peter 2:12).

- Hebrew paqad and Greek episkeptomai include to attend to, to look after, to intervene, either to save or to sift. Scripture holds both together without embarrassment.

Discerning authentic from counterfeit

- Ground everything in the canon. Error begins where Scripture is sidelined (Galatians 1:8–9).

- Examine fruit over time. By their fruit you will recognize them (Matthew 7:20).

- Practice biblical testing. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test all things. Hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:19–21).

- Maintain spiritual and practical order in gathered worship, because God is not a God of disorder, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Word and Table at the center

- Keep exposition central so hearts burn and Christ is seen in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27, 32).

- Keep the Supper frequent and reverent, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Leadership and structures that can steward grace

- Elders shepherd and guard the flock with courage and tenderness (1 Peter 5:1–4).

- Build simple, scalable pathways for repentance, baptism, catechesis, and mission so new life is pastored well (Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 2:41–47).

- Hold open forums for testimony and testing, inviting both zeal and wisdom to serve together (Acts 15; 1 Corinthians 14:29).

Prayer that prevails

- Align fasting and justice so petitions and practice agree (Isaiah 58).

- Embrace day-and-night prayer. Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night (Luke 18:7).

- Pray specifically for open doors, bold speech, and stretched-out hands from heaven to heal (Colossians 4:3; Acts 4:29–30).

Personal holiness that hosts His presence

- He dwells with the contrite and lowly to revive them. I dwell in the high and holy place, but also with the contrite and lowly in spirit (Isaiah 57:15).

- Pursue integrity in hidden places, clean consciences, reconciled relationships, and generosity toward the poor (2 Corinthians 7:1; Acts 24:16; 2 Corinthians 9).

Mission beyond the walls

- Expect civic and cultural implications but keep the cross at the center. Seek the peace of the city and pray on its behalf (Jeremiah 29:7).

- Integrate proclamation and presence, gospel words and good works, for the obedience of faith among all nations (Romans 1:5; Titus 3:8).

Israel and the nations in God’s timetable

- Honor the mystery of Israel’s hardening and future mercy, and labor for the fullness of the Gentiles with humility and hope (Romans 11).

- Read present renewals as down payments, not replacements, anticipating the Lamb’s global reign when the knowledge of the LORD fills the earth (Isaiah 11:9; Revelation 11:15).

Keeping first love in seasons of visitation

- Remember that those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent (Revelation 3:19).

- Guard against pride, personality cults, and mission drift. Decrease gladly so Christ increases, and keep the gospel clear, the church holy, and the harvest in view (John 3:30; 1 Corinthians 2:2).

Draw near with clean hands and steady hearts. The Sunrise has visited us, and He will visit again, until at last He appears in glory.