Are You Afraid of Revival?

 June 13, 2024

Thursday

This morning as I was preparing for a Bible study, I was reminded of something that was said in our last session. There was a reference made to a revival that had broken out in a place where several of those in the study had lived. None of us had heard of that revival and we questioned if it had truly happened. 

So, being the person I am who can't let something I could know be unknown, I looked it up on the internet. Sure enough, the revival had happened. I read how hundreds of people had flooded the altar of the church to confess their sins and repent. It was at that moment that I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to me saying, "You are afraid of revival."

I have been challenging my church for years to pray for revival. I have prayed myself. How could I be afraid of revival? So, I, at first, wondered if this was the Holy Spirit. I prayed for God to reveal whether that was true. It was.

I admitted that I didn't know what to do if revival came to our church. I admitted that I am a skeptic. I don't think things are of the Lord at first blush. I discount them until I see the Lord's hand in what is happening. Thus, I am a late adopter of the works of God. Revival will not let me be so reluctant or it won't be revival. I prefer a steady stream rather than a flood. 

Essentially, I have been praying for revival on my terms. That, too, will not be revival. The Holy Spirit goes where He wills. He doesn't need my approval. He doesn't need me to direct Him in how He will bring revival. He just needs me to get out of the way. He needs me to accept what He is doing. He needs me to allow Him to work in my life without telling Him how to do so.

Repenting of my fear is not easy. My fear has been fashioned by so many false statements about the movements of God. I do not want to be a part of something that is counterfeit so I guard against it so well that I probably wouldn't know revival when it came. 

So, I have decided to continue to pray for revival with a difference in my praying. I pray that God sends His revival regardless if it meets my approval. I want revival even if it makes me uncomfortable. Revival is needed even if I must wait for a long time. Let the Holy Spirit come and turn over my apple cart. May I be ridiculed by my exuberance. Let me be silenced when revival comes!

Acts 2:1–13 (NASB 2020) ¹ When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out. ⁵ Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty deeds of God.” ¹² And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others were jeering and saying, “They are full of sweet wine!”