A Peace
That Passes Understanding
Additional thoughts about the Asbury Revival.
Yesterday I posted the question, “Are we seeing revival?”
My answer then to my own question was that I certainly hoped so because we sure need one. I would like to expand on this today.
As I am writing this I have the live-stream going from the camera in the back balcony of the university hall where this revival broke out back on February 8. There are a few hundred people visible to this camera shot. The crowd size really doesn’t matter. There is nothing of a contest about this. Most are standing and swaying and others are sitting as they sing praise songs. The lights are up and there is no one at the podium upfront.
To be sure, I have not been following this directly and do not plan to. I don’t need to. I understand that what I am seeing is genuine and this is enough for me to simply ask that God do a work in my own heart and the hearts of those near and far from me.
Having prayed this, what exactly am I asking? What is the work that I need? Well it’s a surgery. It is a heart transplant. It is exchanging everything broken and stony in the center of my soul and replacing it with a soft loving heart once again. It is a request to renew my mind, to enable me to focus on what is important and forget what is not. This is not easy and it will be the challenge of everyone who experiences this level of the Holy Spirit’s peace and kindness.
The reason this revival is continuing is because (1) God is gracious and (2) the people of this world, whether they show it or not on the outside, have experienced, and continue to experience, deep trauma. Some of this is self-inflicted, but it is self-inflicted because those who have injured themselves have accepted lies about who they are and who God is. This revival is a time of renewal and reattachment between broken people and their Creator who loved them enough to die on a cross for them. This is not just an unknown force like in Star Wars without a personality and containing good and bad. It is pure goodness, love, and glory – something unreachable by man, meaning it is the stooping down of God to touch and be with his people and to call them home.
Eventually this revival in this place will end. It must. But the prayer is that it will spread and that it will be noticeable in other places all over the world.
But revival is not all there is. It is a gift like other gifts. It is for a time and season. And when it goes, it will be missed by those who experienced it. Perhaps they will be able to recall its tremendous power and importance in their lives as they visit others who experienced it along side them. Perhaps it will become the powerful bond of friendships that will last the rest of their lives. And perhaps it will become the purpose of people banding together to perform great works in the world for the name of Christ. This should not be the end, only the beginning for many.
Having said all of this. There is a warning. Life can never be lived on the embers of past fires. It is critical that those who have been touched by God continue to seek his face and continue to call out for more, never settling for having lived through some big and publicized event. It should never be about that. In fact the more it can be described as unique and unusual, the more the world can justify itself in filing the news story away in forgetfulness and moving on to the next shiny object.
This experience has been described by many as the opposite of wild. It is the outpouring of an indescribable peace. It is a stabilizing force that is loving and restores broken people from the inside out. It is a power that gives them a rest that many have likely never experienced before. It is telling them to stop trying to impress or attempting to please, but instead, to stop and ask for what worldly power and riches can never satisfy. It is the essence of being counter-cultural. It is seeing God on his throne and completely in charge - something that grates against to comfortable status quo.
Consider this verse in Philippians.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 (ESV)
God’s peace guards us. It guards our thoughts and our minds. It is the settled knowledge that God is in charge and is enough, that striving to please or prove is foolishness, especially when we find ourselves in His presence as the people in Kentucky are experiencing right now.
At the end of the verse, it tells us how it can do this. We are guarded by peace because we are placed in Christ Jesus. This means that what he did counts for us as individuals. We are hidden in his good works by his blood poured out for us. Does this make sense? Not completely, but it is understandable enough for even a child to understand and come to him. In fact children have the added advantage of understanding their weakness. Confused adults are trying to get stronger in themselves thinking this is what maturity is all about. It isn’t.
I gave you the verse that described that God’s peace is always available to us. Now let’s backup a few verses and see how this peace can be both obtained and sustained. This is how a revival or an awakening can be sustained for a lifetime.
Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, rejoice.
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.
The Lord is at hand;
do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:4-6
Rejoice regardless of circumstances. Review all that God blesses us with all the time.
Interact with others from settled confidence that allows us to be gentle and encouraging with even those who frustrate us routinely.
See God at work and use this understanding to lower anxiety.
And in everything continue to pray asking God for his will for us and his power to carry this out.
