Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
AWAKE O ZION!
tranced with who God is, and struck with astonished wonder
at the inconceivable elevation and magnitude and splendour
of Almighty God. To love God with fear and wonder and yearning
and awe.’ 29
The desire for God consumed other passions. The call was
to union with God and ‘perfect love’. We became aware of the
stages of growth that Christian mystics spoke of — desire,
discipline, conflict, purging, sweetness, illumination, and union.
(And for some of us, the ‘dark night of the soul’.)
It sounded grand, but we were a long way from being little
mystics. Bible studies were optional. The campers spent most
of their time drying off after the frequent downpours, and
many stayed up late chatting or went out looking for glowworms.
Some lay in bed in the mornings and we spent the
afternoons walking, swimming and visiting the seaside. The
donkey was a distraction, too. It nipped a few fingers and ran
off with Verna’s handbag.
Community was excellent for birthing inspirations and for
earthing them, too. It was good to have people around to tell
us we didn’t need to fast for forty days or that we weren’t
quite ready for apostleship!
Ashburnham left a hazy memory of idyllic scenery, new horizons,
meditation, tremendous praise and deepening brotherhood.
But some remembered it for the mud, sweat and tears.
Mud — for the campers in the rain; sweat and tears for the
many experiences of the cross as we surrendered our lives to
God.
Also that fortnight it dawned on some that they were to be
shepherds of the flock. The sadness of our evangelism was
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