Revival

God restores us even though we may have felt lifeless.

This week we ate sweet corn, cucumbers and zucchini from the garden. Yum!

Last spring my daughter and I sorted through several half-full packets of seeds she had been

saving from previous years. We were deciding what we wanted to plant in the garden this year. We chose the vegetables we wanted, prepared the soil, and put the seeds in the ground.

I am amazed. Tiny seeds, some of which had been in a bin in a dark closet for at least a year,

produced a crop of tasty vegetables. What looked to be dried up and unusable was revitalized and yielded a harvest of goodness.

Those unremarkable looking seeds are actually miniature vessels jam-packed with life. They just needed the application of soil, water and sunshine to encourage the “life out of them”.

Have you ever felt like you’ve been holed away in a dark closet? I have, many times. I love what I read in Psalm 71, verse 20. “Thou, who hast shown me many troubles and distresses, wilt revive me again, and wilt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.” Ah, yes, this world offers up troubles and distresses. And even as His children, we experience these afflictions. One response is to run into our “closet”, that place where we want to be alone and nurse our wounds, and think about how difficult life is for us.

Sweet friends, we are remarkable vessels jam-packed with life! What God has put in us, others need! To revive, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, means to return to consciousness or life; to become active or flourishing again; to be restored from an inactive or unused state. No matter what struggle or problem has sent us running away, God can and will revive us.

Let’s look at what Psalm 119 says about revival:

Verse 25 – My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your Word. When we are feeling low, on the ground, reading God’s Word will give us help in finding how to stand again.

Verse 37 – Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity; and revive me in Your ways. Focusing on worldly things, or using our time for worthless pursuits, can draw us away from His ways.

Keeping our attention on living out God’s principles will improve our own life, and help us to be an encouragement to others.

Verse 40 – Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me through Your righteousness. The more

we read and study the Bible, it becomes a habit that we desire. We begin to yearn to live by His righteousness (what is right).

Verse 50 – This is my comfort in my affliction; that Your Word has revived me. His Word will be comforting to us during any time of suffering. It will rejuvenate us and help us to be strengthened in the hard times.

Verse 88 – Revive me according to Your lovingkindness; so that I may keep the testimony of

Your mouth. When we know and believe the great love He has for us, it is easier to obey His

Word and His commands.

God has planted life-giving seeds of righteousness in each of us. Just like those tiny vegetable seeds we are filled with a plentiful harvest of good works and good deeds. Even in the dark of the closet He is working in our hearts. I hope you will be inspired to look into His Word today. He has a revival planned just for you. You will be amazed!