The Year of the Lord's Favor?, by Darren Hibbs

In 2001, two days before the World Trade Center fell, Darren Hibbs had a visionary preview of the events of 9/11.  As time went by, and Darren had a further vision of the new building being planned to replace the WTC, Darren became convinced that God was speaking a message for our country through those dreams.  In The Year of the Lord's Favor?, Darren details that vision and calls Christians to repentance.

Writing with the passion and trepidation of a reluctant prophet who knows he must convey a painful truth, Darren recounts his first experiences of hearing clearly from God.  He began by simply asking God to speak to him.  As he says, "One of the hardest parts of asking God to speak is just remembering to do it.  It does not take fancy words, just words."  But God's meaning and message to Darren became clear.  He gave Darren the dream of the towers falling to get his attention; a subsequent dream contained the message for the church.

Darren would never say that God caused or planned the attacks of 9/11, but God has chosen that event to get our attention, just as God used foreign invaders to get the attention of Israel in the Old Testament.   However, Christians in the U.S. got caught up in patriotic, nationalistic fervor, rather than turning to God.  "Instead of asking God what He was saying and thinking after 9/11, the church collectively set its hands to rebuilding what God was trying to destroy. . . . God was seeking repentance in the days of 9/11, but His people chose to make it off-limits to suggest those acts were possibly judgment from God trying to wake us up."

This is a hard message to hear, made even harder by Darren's indictment of the church.  Before and after 9/11, the church has aligned itself with political and cultural positions that often run counter to scriptural guidelines.  On both sides of the aisle, and in both liberal and conservative churches, Darren points out that our nation has not protected life, allowing millions to be aborted; has not welcomed the stranger or loved the poor, with immigration and welfare policies being abused and used for political ends; and has chosen nationalistic militarism over peace.

Darren's ultimate message is that we, as a nation, must repent.  Based on his dream, he believes the timing of the completion of 1 World Trade Center is crucial.  Will we be like Ninevah, and repent before the completion of 1WTC?  Like Judah, and repent after?  Or like Sodom and Gommorrah, not repent, and be destroyed?  The bad news is that the church usually tries to fix things through programs, politics, or study.  The good news is that God is a God of grace and love.  Darren calls for humble, repentant prayer, as the time is indeed short.

I have known Darren for years, and have confidence in his integrity and passion for this message.  I remember his sharing this in a nutshell version several years ago, sitting in my living room, and am so pleased that he has developed it into a challenge for the church and the nation.



Learn more about Darren at his internet home, www.joelarmy.com
Thanks to Darren and 10 Week Books for the complimentary electronic copy.

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