The fall of 1969 and the spring of 1970 were tumultuous times, not too unlike the things we are experiencing today. There was deep mistrust in the government with the War in Vietnam being very polarizing among people. There were deep racial issues as the nation was processing all the changes of the civil rights movement. There were riots and protests on college campuses and in the streets. It was in this cultural moment that revival broke out on the campus of Asbury College in Wilmore, KY on February 3rd, 1970. A routine chapel service that was supposed to last one hour went for 185 hours strait (8 days), without interruption. Most amazingly, there was no preacher, no leader, no personality around which one could attribute this phenomenon that would cause people to stay up all hours of the night and day to pray, worship, confess sin and repent to God and others. It was truly a sovereign move of God. We need another one and I believe it is already starting.
This move of God started with a senior student standing up in front of the entire school assembly, confessing his sin, his need for God, and how much time he felt he had wasted. It was shocking and sobering. Soon, others followed suit and simply told the truth about themselves, their need for God, and their need to make things right with Jesus and with others in the room. This lead to repentance between friends and family, business leaders and faculty. Even college professors and pastors were coming up to confess their sins in front of the student body so that they might be made right with God and others. This is revival. No fancy lights, no cool shoes, no big names… just humility, confession, repentance and renewal in God’s presence. What will it take to see it in our homes, families, communities and businesses? (Click here to read my post, “God Broke My Heart”)
Here, I am submitting three observations; two action steps and one proof of concept that I believe characterize a true move of God and the kind of revival we need:
Super. Natural.
- Humility & Surrender
As long as we demand to be in charge or in control we will continue to get the results we currently have. To see God do something super-natural in our lives we must recognize the natural will only go so far. We need the super. And the super only comes when we humble ourselves and surrender to God’s leadership in our lives.
However, surrender is not just “giving up.” Surrender is active. It requires effort towards something and effort away from something. We’ve got to submit our will and preferences to God and resist the things that would try to keep us from doing so. When we surrender our desire to understand everything, it is the sweetest offering we can offer God because it displays trust that He is good and that He is for us and not against us.
2. Truth & Confession
We often try and make ourselves sound better than we really are while trying to make God look worse than He is. We elevate all our ‘wonderful’ attributes; how honest we are, how hard-working we are, how much we have sacrificed, etc… forgetting the truth of how arrogant we are, how much we lie and manipulate and how selfish we can be.
At the same time we blame God for not begin fair, for not explaining everything to us in our way and on our timeline and for allowing bad things to happen that we don’t like or understand. The real truth is, we are fatally flawed and He is endlessly good. It’s not a sin to have questions or not understand something. It is a sin to demand that we should or that we are owed something. It is by God’s mercy we even have breath in our lungs with which to make our requests or accusations. How quickly we forget.
When we confess the truth about ourselves (confession of our sin) and confess the truth about who God is (full of love, compassion and hope) we encounter renewal in our life that is not available to us in any other way. This breakthrough frees us to tell the truth to others and empowers us to confess truth to them as well. This leads to repaired relationships and less anxiety and fear. True confession is life-giving in every sense of the word. (Click here to read my post, “Don’t Be A Slave in the Promised Land”)
I have found when we put these first two elements into practice it leads to…
3. Rest & Peace
When we surrender our demands and humble ourselves before God by being honest about our sin and truthful about His goodness it releases us from the weight of our own demands and failures. It leads to rest and peace in Jesus. While it may not free us from our circumstances it does free us from the control those circumstances try to force upon us. We are free from fear or anxiety because we know the truth, have surrendered to the leadership of God and know His way is good and purposeful whether we fully understand or not. To some that may seem naive? For those who have practiced it, the rest it brings is all the proof they need.
It has been said, “a man with an opinion is not at the mercy of a man with an experience.” So I invite you. Any are of your life that lack rest in is an invitation for great freedom and a move of God in your own life. I believe this is happening more and more. I know it is happening in me and I pray you will consider allowing it to happen in you. Blessings!
From the Bible
He [Jesus] prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” – Mark 14:35-36 NLT
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. – James 5:15–16 NLT
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11: 28 NLT