Hearts Ablaze Atlanta — God Will Finish What He Started

“My Father is always working, and so am I.”

— John 5:17

At Triumph of Hope, there are many things that tug at our hearts, but we are learning to posture our hearts to wait on God. This process involves waiting on God’s timing to walk through doors that He has opened. Other times, it means turning down opportunities no matter how attractive, for the simple reason that God has said “No!” It’s a real journey of faith.

Over a year ago, we begun to think about doing an event in Atlanta. The idea was exciting but was God in it? Henry Blackaby, in his book “Experiencing God” says: “We are an industrious people. We always want to accomplish something. You can immerse yourself in activities, programs, meetings, and events, but they will not have any lasting value for God’s kingdom- the activities God will commend in the final judgment are those that He initiated…God is always at work around you, and the goal of the Christian life is to identify where He is working and join Him there. Instead of asking God to bless your plans, you should adjust your life to align with God's activity.”

Accordingly, instead of rushing into an event, we prayed and asked God if He wanted to do a work in Atlanta through Triumph of Hope. God made us wait for over a year. When He finally gave us His yes, we only had six weeks to plan and execute the event. It stretched our faith, but God knew what He was doing. Thankfully, God had already been working in the hearts of a few families in Atlanta. They were on fire for Jesus. Together we planned “Hearts Ablaze Atlanta”, believing God to bring the people that He wanted to touch. The intercession leading up to the event, week after week, was fervent and persistent. Finally on Saturday April 18, we had the event at Elevate City Church. God rewarded our prayers. It was phenomenal!

There were powerful teachings on the person, presence, and work of the Holy Spirit; what it means for a believer to walk in the Spirit; the power of a mind renewed in the Word of God; essentials to a burning heart; and a life fueled by prayer. People were blessed by powerful testimonies on how families are standing and speaking against pornography; the faithfulness of God; and the miracle working power of God. As with all our events, we love coming alongside people in prayer because our heart’s desire is to bring people into a personal transformative encounter with the Lord. Ministry time was raw and saturated with the love and presence of God. Nothing can ever substitute a touch from Jesus. Hearts Ablaze Atlanta reminded us once again, that once you encounter the Holy Spirit, nothing else will do. We give God the glory!

God planted so many seeds and lit a fire in so many hearts. Please pray that everyone who attended will continue to grow in the grace, knowledge, love, and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for them to stay ablaze for Jesus so they can make other disciples. We trust that the Lord who started the good work in them will be faithful to complete it.