31 Days. Out of Religion Into Revival {Day 2}

Spurgeon so eloquently said, revival is, “to live again, to receive again a life which is almost expired; to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished.”

He uses the example of a person who has drowned.  Imagine them, pulled out of the water, their vitals showing physical, mental, emotional unresponsiveness.

Not moving, breathing, hearing the voice of the ones around them.  They aren’t living.

Yet, imagine a hero, a brave soul….a Savior comes along.  He finds that drown person lying there lifeless. He rubs, stimulates, pumps, heats up a life that lay there motionless.

Pretty soon, water spews from them, eyes will open, body will twitch, the person will sit up and acknowledge the reality of their near death experience.

These are the few. The ones encountering true grace.  These will live forever different, because they can fully embrace how they were given a second chance.

They will begin to breathe again.  They will live where once they were dead.  They will taste and see, as if it was the first time ever living.  

So it is with revival.

Like a flame flickering ablaze to one who has lay dead, dried, lifeless on the ground; revival ignites, restores, sets to fire that which might otherwise be dried on the floors of our own souls.

Yet, prior to revival in my soul, I never knew I was lukewarm and cold inside.  I thought I had done religion “right”.

My husband and I taught Sunday School, we served the church and gave tithe and offering.  Hadn’t I just gotten back from taking my entire family across country on a missions trip?

Didn’t that mean I was a “good”  Christian?

Yet…

• Why did I feel so dead inside?
• Why did I still suffer from fear?
• Why was I hurt and constantly offended by people?
• Why did I have to work so hard to be a “good” person?

Maybe this Christian life is just martyrdom, sacrifice, and surrendered.  Maybe all life, joy, and fun is supposed to die once we become a Christian?  Shouldn’t I just tread on with this suffering and pain?

But, something whispered, “There is more”.  After all, wasn’t this joyless life the reason I left Christianity in the first place?  

And what was the deal with all these critical people?  If Christianity is being stiff and rigid, then of course I wasn’t going to give “all-my-heart” to God or really want to be around His people.

The last thing I wanted to be was just another joyless, critical, uptight, judgmental Christian.

I wanted authentic faith, real relationship.  A deeper understanding of what God did in Acts, bringing people together, making them one.  Giving, sacrificing simply out of love….all they are to God.

That’s what I envisioned to be “real religion”, “authentic faith”.….Truly what Christ meant when He said to go and be the church.

So why did all my “Acts-reading” lead me here?  To this church?  And here I was, hands up.  Tears flowing in this new place of worship.  I couldn’t explain it.

How could I go back?  How was I to turn around, and live back inside my old thinking, that stale belief system?

Little did I expect, I wasn’t going to.  In fact, after being in the midst of His presence, I began to not even recognize myself.

I had found revival.  Or maybe, it found me….