Refreshed
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
When my boys were little, money was tight, and we sought entertainment that was cheap. Fortunately, little boys are pretty easy to entertain. One of our favorite all day activities was absolutely free. On one side of our farm there is a spring-fed creek that flows through a deep ravine. The creek itself was only inches deep, but the water was cold, even in the heat of a southern summer. We spent hours exploring the area and building makeshift dams to collect water deep enough to sit submerged in. Grape vines hung from the trees for swinging and the bottom of the creek was covered in a fine sand that made visibility easy. Walking to the cool spring in the heat of summer was a trek, especially with little boys. We often packed little lunches and spent several hours on our adventure of the day. Getting there meant traveling through cornfields and to my little guys it felt like a very long way. I remember relieved sighs of “Finally!” when we saw the entrance to our little private paradise. By the time we reached the refreshing cool water of the spring, we were usually, hot and sweaty and ready to sit and rest in the cool comfortable environment.
Revival week feels a lot like sitting in the coolness of the spring. Life can sometimes be hard and heavy, but when revival week rolls around, the world seems to fade away for a bit, and I just sit and allow the Word of God, preached by good preachers, to seep into my soul. I sit day and night surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ and revel in the love that a perfect Savior had for us. Yes, the week is busy, especially as someone who is still working. Rising early to put in a few hours of work before heading to morning service, returning to work and then managing household tasks before evening service can be somewhat stressful, and post revival Saturdays usually involve little more than laundry and rest… But, Oh, how my soul drinks up the time spent in the company of God’s people. Visiting with old friends and making new ones as sister churches come to visit our revival. Singing the praises of a good God with like-minded people, enjoying the testimonies of saints are some of my favorite activities. Of course, though we long to see a soul saved, or new members joining our little body, the reviving of the saints is an important function of the week.
I always feel especially close to my church family by the end of revival. The ladies with whom I’ve worked side-by-side in the kitchen. The brothers I’ve shared meals with. It seems easier to share confidences with them when we’re together so much during the week, it’s as if the shared goal of the week knits us together. I have often wished more would manage their time to include more revival services for the week. It may seem like a burden to lose personal time that you could be vacationing or enjoying other activities to dedicate a whole week to church services, but I’ve done it multiple times throughout the years and I’ve never once regretted it. As I write this, it is Thursday afternoon… and, I’m physically exhausted, but the spiritual joy will last far longer than the day of rest it will take me to recover physically.
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Acts 2:46
I love the description of the early church at the end of the second chapter of Acts. They had heard the preaching of Peter, souls had been saved and added to the body, and they continued daily with one accord. Sounds like an awesome revival meeting. They ate together, and spent a lot of time with their church family. If our entire body, set aside normal life for a week and became totally like-minded, imagine the things God could accomplish! If every lost child was at every service, there would be no way they could escape the conviction poured out by a loving God. If everyone took that one week of the year, and made sure they had their life lined up to make it to every single meeting… imagine the things we could see. If everyone prayed for every lost soul in our circle of friends, and if everyone spent time preparing for revival, and if everyone obeyed the leading of the Holy Spirit in testimony and deed… just imagine…
The time to prepare is now, we know the dates of our revival a year or more in advance. Your church may be much the same way. Make plans, now. This week has been incredible for me, and I’d love to share it with even more of my church family next year.
I’m refreshed, I’m renewed spiritually. I’m so thankful that I took the time out of this busy life to spend time with the Prince of Peace. Time, our most valuable possession, is never wasted when spent with our Lord. I’m revived! And, I’m looking forward to more.
