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REVIVAL

by Jerry Ousley  
1/28/2012 / Christian Living


When I hear the word "revival" one of the incidents I think of took place in the book of 1 Samuel. The young king Saul had attempted to organize his rag-tag army. Other than Saul and his son Jonathan, the men were armed with pitch forks, axes and other farm tools because the oppressing Philistine nation had confiscated all their weapons. During the course of the day Jonathan and his armor bearer had taken it upon themselves to launch a mini-attack against a garrison of Philistines and God had given them the victory that sparked the rest of the battle. They had been victorious but King Saul wanted more. He had commanded a fast; no one was to eat until the battle had been completed to his satisfaction. This was a big mistake because the men had fought hard all day and were worn out. However Jonathan was not present when Saul had issued the order regarding the fast and after rejoining the army, as they passed through a wooded area he spotted a beehive, stuck his spear in it and drew out a mouthful of honey. He ate it and was immediately refreshed and revived.

I love honey. I make a practice of eating a spoonful or two several times a week. I don't know how true it is but my dear old grandmother told me one time that a spoonful of honey each day was good for you. I don't know the medical applications of that philosophy but I've tried to live by it as much as I can and that bite of honey is really refreshing and I often think of Jonathan when I eat it. It revives me!

It's just like a quick nap on a Sunday afternoon. Now I'm not one to sleep much during the day. Frankly I like getting in everything I can into a day's time. But there are times when on a lazy Sunday afternoon, leaning back in my very cozy and comfortable recliner that my eyes begin to grow heavy and folks it's very difficult to stop them from closing. I'll try. It begins as a blink but the blink intervals get longer and longer. My eyelids stay shut for another millisecond each time until finally they just refuse to open up again. Ten minutes is tops for those naps. Any longer and I feel like my mind is on hold you know, kind of dull with a slow response time. But ten minutes seems just right. After a short nap like that I feel refreshed and, yes, revived.

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 138:7, "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me." Revival is a word thrown around a lot in churches today. Some think of a spring and fall service where a guest speaker is brought in. Some think of bringing in the lost and fiery messages given that will draw them to Christ. While these things are not wrong and are often beneficial to the congregation they may or may not be revival. The word literally means (according to Webster's Dictionary) "To bring back, or come back into use or attention; return to health, vigor, or activity; to return to life or consciousness." When thought of in the true definition of the word we could think of revival in three ways.

First it is the sinner coming home to God. The soul is dead to God prior to salvation. So when an unbeliever becomes a believer and gives his or her life to the Lord their soul is quickened brought back to life by the infusion of the power of the Holy Spirit. That's revival!

Second, if one has slipped away from the Lord, strayed from the body of believers and fallen into sin, when they are drawn back, recommit themselves to Christ and are restored in their fellowship with God that too is revival.

And third, all believers from time to time grow lax in their relationship with Christ. It could come from a dynamic sermon, a song, or just reading the Bible in private devotional time, but something sparks inside and we are renewed and revived in our salvation experience and zeal for the Lord.

So it's okay to have our meetings; there's certainly nothing wrong in that. In fact these special meetings can and do become the spark for revival in all three of these aspects. Regardless if it is a special meeting or just being obedient to a word from the Lord in your heart, be revived because that spoonful of spiritual honey will carry you through the day!

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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