I wrote this post a while back and am just now posting it. I have rewritten it, I welcome your suggestions, and your feedback on this one.
Our country is in desperate need of a great awakening.
My church could use a good revival.
I need a revival.
Except for prayer I have no control over the first two, but I can do something about the third.
Every Christian has experienced a time of spiritual dryness. It happened to the prophets of the Old Testament, the great church fathers, 18th century giants of the faith and certainly it happens today. Sometimes it seems that God is hiding Himself, though I am certain that that is not the case.
I recently confessed to three of my friends that I have been in somewhat of a spiritual lowpoint lately. While I’m in the midst of this lowpoint, feeling distant from God, I am aware of my situation. I know that I am not where I should be, but it feels as if I’m powerless to fix it.
Here is the question of this post; why is revival sometimes so hard to come by? One thing I do know is that the major problem in a time of spiritual dryness is sin. I know without a doubt that anyone with unrepentant sin will not emerge from such a condition simply by accident. I also don’t believe that God will just yank us up out of the funk without clearing up the sin that we seem unwilling to let go of.
For me, the major symptom of being in this condition is a lack of regular quiet time. When in this condition my quiet times are either sporadic, or low-quality. They sometimes feel like drudgery. Under normal circumstances I enjoy reading my Bible and my time alone with God in prayer is the best time of the day.
This all leads to the next major question; if I realize that sin is what has me in this rut, why can I not simply cut out the sin? I want to stop, I realize that is my major problem. Why is it often difficult to just repent. That is, of course, the key to it all. I can take some comfort in Romans 7:14-25. And I can of course conclude as Paul did 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! God provided both forgiveness and way out.
I’m going through a similar thing, and I guess my experience is the only one I can really talk about (at least accurately). I hate how I am spiritually right now. It’s just … dry. My insides feel dirty, especially when I pray. I’m like this because I’m lazy and because it’s really hard for me to break habits and start new ones. I’m in the habit of watching certain shows and spending time with certain people, doing certain things with my time that are not God-honoring. I can’t seem to get in the habit of studying my Bible or having a quiet time, or even praying, let alone thinking outside myself and actually sharing my faith with someone. It takes a lot of effort to do those things that I’m not used to, and I means I’ll have to give up some things that I am used to. Apparently, it’s more of an effort than I’m willing to make.
I think corporate revival depends on individuals. Like I said, it takes effort, and, unless individual Christians are willing to put forth that effort or at least earnestly try, a church revival, a national revival, a global revival will not happen because people will not be ready.
When I think about some of the great revivals I’ve read about or witnessed or experienced, they all seem to have in common the coming together of God’s drawing and man’s responding. If revival ever did come to our church or our nation, I don’t know if I’d respond. I don’t know that I’m strong enough or right enough to respond right now. I think all I can do right now is pray. Pray that I can respond in the future. Pray that the Holy Spirit will help me respond and actually change and do something.
You’ve identified your problem. The easiest thing and maybe all you can do now is pray for the strength to get out of it. Identify specific sins and make a conscious effort to eliminate those things from your life. Pray for help from the Holy Spirit and pray for help from the people around you. Pray for changes to go on in the hearts of the people near you so that they can be ready for revival. Expect it. Expecting it may help you prepare for it. You don’t invite an important person to your house if there’s junk all over the place and you’re wearing a ratty sweatshirt that hasn’t been washed in three weeks. Make a point as often as you can during the day to clean up your life so that revival and the Holy Spirit can find you all clean and sparkly.
A homeless man came in for assistance at the food pantry on Wednesday. He was driven there by a man he never met before who, if they could not find any clothing at the pantry, was going to take him shopping at goodwill. He was a size 10 boot and had a 36″ waistline. We normally can’t keep those sizes in stock, but just the day before, we received a large clothing donation which contained just that as well as warm blankets, one of those rain slickers in a bag, nice coats, etc. With his shoes literally falling apart and all the rain lately, this was extremely fortunate.
In addition to that, we had run out of peanut butter earlier in the day…but a donor dropped in not ten minutes before the man showed up and donated six jars of peanut butter. Unfortunately, the man would not accept any more than two jars and a loaf of bread.
I have a hard time believing that it is mere coincidence or luck that a good Samaritan happened to pick him up, that we happened to get a donation the day before with his shoe and dress size as well as other items he could really use (and that it was still there towards the end of the day), and that a donor dropped off more peanut butter just in time for him to have some.
Being an agnostic, I subscribe it to “someone” being on his side. Could very well be God giving him a helping hand. Perhaps that’s the way He chooses to show Himself these days.
All that being said, I think it’s important that if you believe in God to not look for Him in the big picture but to open your mind to the small miracles that make life bearable. It will make it easier to really find Him again.
As for getting rid of sin…The truth is that it’s just as hard to break a bad habit as it is to start a good one. But, with self-observation, you can become aware of the triggers that cause you to sin. When you learn to recognize these triggers, you can figure out what the need that you’re trying to fulfill is.
For instance, I used to much on snacks while watching television. Everyone in my family does. So, I started trying to keep my hands busy with crafting and ignored the feeling in my stomach for as long as I could – each time a bit longer than the last. After a while, I didn’t get hungry – unless I actually was.
@webhick
I want to be clear about something. At no point have I doubted that God is real or that He is there, or, for that matter, my salvation, or my forgiveness. I am as certain that God is real and that I will be in heaven with him as I am that I am typing right now. I absolutely know this.
It’s hard to explain exactly what I mean by “dryness” to someone who is not a believer. It is very similar to a distance that grows in a relationship with a friend as you grow apart. The difference is in this case I know it’s my fault, and that He is waiting for me to return.
This is some good stuff man! Thanks for sharing so openly and honestly.
We are getting ready to start revival services this Sunday, and I was wondering if I could use parts of this post on my blog? Just let me know. Thanks!
Jeremy,
I didn’t mean to imply that you were in doubt as to God’s existence and certainly didn’t want to offend. I am not a stranger to religion or faith and found that when I did believe in God, during times of disconnect, that looking for inspiration in the smallest of things would ease the apathy.
Again, I’m sorry if I offended your faith.
@webhick
I’m not offended at all. I was just afraid I was unclear. I wanted to clarify myself.