Revive Us Again

Revive Us Again

What comes to your mind when you hear the word ― revival? For many people, their mind immediately envisions those old fashioned Gospel Meetings of yesteryear. During these revivals, a visiting preacher would travel in from miles away, preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a plain and powerful way, and lead many souls to Christ. Such revivals were occasionally held in a tent or an old block church building, and they often lasted for weeks on end. It could be that you remember attending a revival much like this when you were young, and it may well be that you are a Christian today because of an old fashioned Gospel revival. But that‘s not the only meaning attached to this word—it relates to being re-stored, refocused, and revitalized.

We often sing a beloved hymn that says, ―revive us again! Did you know that this phrase is taken directly from the Scriptures? It‘s found in Psalm 85:6 where the psalmist asks, Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? When we look even closer at the contents of this passage, we notice that it‘s part of a prayer for a full-scale revival among God‘s people. Many scholars believe Psalm 85 is a post-exilic psalm (i.e. a psalm that was written after Israel‘s deportation from their land). God, you see, punished Judah for her sins and idolatry by sending her away into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. At the end of those years, though, God revived the nation by sending the faithful remnant back home to their promised land. However, they soon fell back into sin and needed a revival from God all over again. The language of Psalm 85 matches these historical realities. It would seem that God previously revived His people by forgiving them, relenting from His anger, and sending them back to their homeland (vv.1-3), yet they have digressed and angered God all over again (vv.4-6). Therefore, the in-spired penman passionately prays for God to do what He has been done before—revive us again!

This Old Testament text reminds us that the psalmist understood and confessed the need for a revival in his day, but will we confess and acknowledge our need for the same? If the truth be told, the church is in desperate need of a revival! Many once faithful saints have lost their focus and their commitment has waned. Fear has gripped the hearts of many Christians, and they need to be resuscitated and brought back to greater spiritual health. As well, many churches are deadlocked in neutral, declining, and flatlining. Such churches look little like their surrounding community, not much effort is being exerted to reach the lost, and the congregation is drifting further apart than closer together. COVID-19 has certainly not helped any of these troubling trends! Is God pleased with the state of His church right now? Truly, the church is in desperate need of a revival! God‘s people ought to be echoing the prayer of the Old Testament scribe for Jehovah to revive His people again! Can I challenge you to pray for a full-scale revival in the church today? May I challenge you to reawaken to God‘s purposes, revive your personal commitment to God and His work, and experience a revival in your own spiritual life? I am convinced God can do incredible things through us! He has restored and revived His people before, and He can do it again! Lord, please revive us again!