As I stopped to get gas recently, I reached for the pump and noticed a winged bug I hadn't recalled seeing before. It didn't move from the pump even as I moved the handle. It got my attention, and I wondered what it was. Immediately the word "mayfly" popped into my head. I wasn't sure what a mayfly was - though the name sounded familiar- so I did a quick image search. Sure enough- the bug was a mayfly. I felt like the Lord was trying to say something, so I began to read about these tiny creatures. Here's what I learned:
The presence of mayflies often indicates water that is oxygenated and pure. They hatch in such striking numbers in some areas that they can show up on weather radars and draw quite the tourist crowd. They are notorious for having a short lifespan- it was even compared in one instance to having the lifespan of a daily newspaper. Mayflies- despite their name- can hatch in a number of both spring and summer months.
The Lord started connecting these dots by saying that He is stirring in the hearts of His people a movement in media. We are coming into a time in which God is "aerating" the media. Pure truth and the good news are multiplying to take the media by storm. I heard the term "media storm" which occurs when something gets widespread coverage and attention. While historically "bad news" has gotten more attention, God is using an ignited passion in people for the truth as a vehicle to transmit the gospel.
Webster's dictionary defines media as "communication designed to reach the masses" or - even more simply- "a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or expression". God is raising up people in all types of media- social media, mainstream media, and even those who overlap with other spheres (like business, entertainment, or ministry) but deal heavily in communication. By all walking in obedience to their individual callings to purity and truth simultaneously, there is an"explosion" happening in the media mountain that's much like the mega blooms of mayflies. Though they are small on an individual level, they become visible even from space.
I also heard "watch what can change in a day". Major negative headlines will be reversed from one day to the next for God's glory. There is an expiration date on the "bad news" and "fake news" that seem to have no solution in sight. It also may not be in the timeline or season we expect. God's timeline is not limited to our human ability to name it.
This is not a passive word that we are to just "watch and see"- but an active one. An overflow of truth and purity on a great communications scale takes first feeding on the truth of God and letting Him purify our thoughts, vision, and hearing. Let's join in prayer for the proliferation of those touched by God's truth and good news- and let it start with each one of us.
Prayer: Lord, thank you that you are the voice of truth and hope that we can trust. Thank you that you speak first to us and second through us. Purify us as your vessels that by your grace alone we can carry words of love and redemption. Break our human fascination with bad news, fear-baited stories, and shame-based media, and turn our eyes to the greater truths you're longing to reveal. May we bring attention to you through all our personal communications. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
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