My family went camping for the first time not too long ago. My wife and I took our two girls out into the deep, deep, dangerous wilderness a.k.a. my in-laws front yard. That’s right, at least fifty long feet from A/C, bathrooms, showers, and a refrigerator. We figured this would be a safe place to start our camping adventures. As we began to shop for all the camping gear we needed, we were overwhelmed. There is nothing that someone hasn’t thought of that you “need” in order to go camping. There are battery powered torches, portable cell phone chargers, battery powered fans, cushioned mats to sleep on, blow up mattresses, tents bigger than my house. You name it, they have it. We have made it so luxurious to camp that it can actually be quite enjoyable and comfortable. But no matter how many contraptions for comfort the camping industry comes up with, a tent can never compare to our home. I think about the early nomads and how they had to truly “camp out” because they had nothing else. As time moved on, shelters replaced their tents, and houses replaced their shelters. They gladly gave up their tents for greater facilities as their skills and resources advanced. I sometimes wonder if an early nomad were transported in a time machine to today (and saw our beautiful homes with all their amenities) if he would find it strange that some choose to sleep in a tent in the woods for recreation.

No matter how comfortable we make our camping experience, it will always be second best to our home. It will always be an inferior copy of the real thing. Sure, a tent may not come with the utility bills or insurance premiums, but I think we would all agree that those extra burdens are worth it in the end. I don’t think there are many out there that would trade their real home for life in the forest. Yet, if not careful, we can make this trade in our spiritual lives. We can condition ourselves to believe that life at “base camp” is just as good as the real thing. All the while, God has mansions and air conditioning waiting for us if we would choose to go up the mountain.

Zig Ziglar, one of my favorite speakers, tells of a famous study done with fleas. Scientists took a group of fleas and put them in a jar with a lid. The fleas tried hard to jump out, but were met with disappointment as they smashed their little heads against the lid. After a period of time, scientists removed the lid, providing an escape for the fleas. They were home free! But the fleas didn’t take advantage of this. Had they become content in their little mason jar home? Not quite. The fleas did not escape because they had conditioned themselves to jump below the height of the lid. They believed the lid was still on the jar. They were living on past experience rather than exploring the possibility of escape. We too can condition ourselves to jump only as high as the lids that we and others put on our lives.  We can colonize familiarity and leave the pioneering to the brave. Unfortunately, this type of living did not go well for the Children of Israel. They never got to enter into the Promise Land that God had set out for them, because they stopped just short of the journey. Not until Joshua stepped in, and a new generation emerged, were the Children of Israel able to enter into the Promise Land. The previous generation missed being part of a revolution during its time.

I believe a Worship Revolution is taking place where people are beginning to awaken to the greatness of God. They are starting to detox their lives from the poison of the world. As these Revolutionists awaken to the greatness of God, worship is rushing out of them like an uncontrollable class 5 rapid. They are not content with just talking about God, debating doctrines, and creating committees. They have tired from hearing rumors of God moving. They want to experience the life-changing power of God in their own lives and in the lives of those around them.

~ Taken from my book, “The Worship Revolution”

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