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One of the things we’ve come to treasure here at the retreat centre is watching people rediscover the presence of God. Whether arriving weary, seeking rest, or simply longing for more, many find that in the quiet, the Lord begins to speak again. Not with fanfare, but with that deep, personal invitation: ‘Come away with Me’.
This place was established to offer just that - a setting apart. A place where the Bride can meet with the Bridegroom. Where preparation doesn’t mean pressure, but presence.
Because there’s a wedding coming!
In recent times you’ll probably have read or heard on the news that people are being encouraged by the government to store provisions in case of a calamity. There may well be some common sense in that suggestion, but there is a much greater event coming for which practical ‘prepping’ alone will never prepare us! I’m referring to the tumultuous incidents at the End of the Age precipitating the return of Jesus.
What a joyous and breathtaking moment it will be. The Bride is being made ready, and as Christians we need to take personal responsibility for engaging in the process.
At our retreat centre, we often see how quickly life fills with responsibilities, noise, and good intentions. But what if we paused? What if we stepped away for a while and let the Lord tend to our hearts, away from distractions?
God is creating a corporate vessel who will be fit to be his Bride, and it won’t happen by us trying to prove our worth by what we do. It’s by dying to self and allowing the life of Jesus to fill us and live through us.
Paul could confidently say: ‘It’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,’ (Galatians 2:20). Allowing his kingdom, his will, his desires, and his eternal purpose to be established within means laying down selfish ambition for the sake of knowing Jesus as our lover, Bridegroom, and friend.
Perhaps God used the analogy of a wedding to convey his heart for us. For the Bridegroom is longing to be with his Bride because of his love for her, and equally, she longs to be with him. He showed his love for her by laying down his life to redeem her; as she grows in love with him, the Bride is only too glad to surrender.
This is the ultimate preparation of the corporate Bride for her Bridegroom King. What more could the Bridegroom want of his Bride? And what more wonderful moment than when the last great catastrophe is at an end, the skies split and the Bridegroom appears!
This is what we carry in the heart of this place. A desire to see his Bride prepared, not by pressure or programmes, but by becoming his.
So, we invite you. If you’re longing to make space for Jesus, to prepare your heart for the One who is coming, then come. Step away for a little while. Let him speak to you. Let him quiet your soul. Let him fill you again.
Because the day is drawing near.
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7)
Maranatha, come Lord Jesus!
