Revival

This past week I was thinking about how God is moving and what true revival really looks like. I received two visions from the Lord that really challenged the way I viewed revival. This is something that I believe the Lord wants to remind us in this season. It’s something that is simple, but something we tend to overlook.

I was looking down with a bird-eyes view on this little flame that was being fanned by several people. Even though it was only a short period of time, I could tell that a lot of time was passing. There were people that were joining in on fanning the flame and walking away from it. Slowly it grows and pretty soon, I become one of the people fanning this flame. As the fire gets bigger and bigger, everyone gets slightly nervous as sometimes sparks fly out of the flame and singe our clothes. Some of the flame even jumps out and touches my skin. Every time the flame jumps out and touches my skin, I jump back a little in shock. I’m almost afraid to continue fanning this flame just because it is getting so big I feel like it is about to envelop us. Funny thing is, I know we’re supposed to walk into this fire (and we’re fully capable of it), but I can’t bring myself to walk into it. I am afraid.

I didn’t fully understand this vision when I was first thinking about it, but I think I get it now! (or at least I think I do). This fire is the fire of revival that so many people have been calling for throughout the years. It is the revival fire that UCSD students cry out for and long for, fanning it faithfully year after year. This is the fire that will set a whole campus ablaze. Year after year they cry out, and year after year it gets bigger. Sometimes the flame jumps out at them and they get a glimpse, a taste of what revival looks like. Sounds great, right? Why then did I jump back when the revival fire jumped out at me? Why was I so shocked? Isn’t this something I long for? Something the whole campus yearns for? Well, the fact is revival looks a lot better on the outside than inside. It is easier to cry out for revival than it is to experience it. Hear me out.

What exactly does revival bring? What does a person’s life affected by revival look like? Isn’t it a change of lifestyle that we have become so comfortable with? Isn’t it the laying down of our sinful nature before the Lord? Isn’t it a pursuit of holiness and righteousness? Isn’t it a call to dangerous places where we don’t necessarily want to go? To me, revival results in doing things that will make us uncomfortable. It means opening our eyes to injustices and uneasy things that we would like to distract ourselves from. It means voluntarily stepping into an ongoing spiritual battle that is more intense than flesh and blood. Revival means choosing a lifestyle that returns to God, and turns away from the things that society has programmed us to desire. It is not just a glorious thing where masses of people return to God. It is not just incredible healings and miracles and testimonies. Revival is costly. It demands our all.

This second image I got was of a false god that was being worshipped by nearly everyone there. Suddenly a fire from heaven comes down and devours this false idol and a thought/voice pops into my head: “A time will come when we will turn from our idols and worship the true and living God.” This is where the image stops, but I can’t help but think that after the false god is destroyed, panic probably ensues. My guess is that, if we were worshipping these false gods, they must have been somewhat near and dear to us. They probably matter a whole lot to us. When the fire of God consumes these idols, won’t we immediately start panicking? The thing that we’ve been worshiping all this time is gone. Seeing the things that were so real to us, the things that we loved so much being consumed in an instant must be devastating. That’s what true revival does to us! It destroys the idols of our lives and brings us face to face with the living God. It utterly annihilates all that stands between us and our first love.

So for the past couple of days the question I’ve been asking myself is: Am I ready for revival? Are we really ready for this revival that we are crying out for? Do we know what we are asking for? Will we be surprised when revival actually comes when we actually seek after it whole-heartedly? To walk into this gigantic flame goes against all our instincts. Of course it’s going to hurt. Of course it’s going to burn away some of the filth that we think are treasures in our lives. A lot of times it’s going to feel like God is hurting us more than helping us during the times of being refined in the fire. I bet being burned must hurt a lot. Actually, I know it does, but don’t get me wrong, it is so worth it. I’ve come to realize that though it may often times be a struggle, it results in greater intimacy with him. It results in a greater and more tangible realization of His love for us. It opens our eyes to truth, something that everyone desires. It gives us a sense of purpose, a hope, a peace that cannot be experienced in anything else. Revival sets our souls free. Do you want revival?

So Lord, send revival, start with me.

-phil