The Year of our Lord 2020 has been a difficult one on so many levels. We have suffered a pandemic, rioting, and political acrimony throughout this year.
Going into an election, it is easy to give in to the fear caused by what might happen if our preferred candidate does not win in a little over a week.
We have many reasons to be anxious and fearful. This is why this short prayer embedded into Psalm 85 made an impression on me.
“Will you not revive us again so that your people may rejoice in you?”
Psalm 85:6, CSB
If ever the church in the United States needed revival, it is now.
Many churches that would call themselves evangelical have taken the lure of cultural relevance and have been dragged away from the gospel by that culture.
With the advent of COVID-19, fellowship has been difficult and fear of contracting this disease has caused isolation. Even healthy churches have struggled to encourage their members.
But we can be encouraged that for 2,000 years, even when the majority of the church went off the rails and succumbed to corruption and neglect, God has ever maintained a group of believers who have born witness to His faithfulness.
Our faith is not in the church organization but in the Head of the church, Jesus Christ. He has remained faithful to us even when our faith has wavered.
The psalm reminds me that the condition of the society around us should spur us to renewed fervor in seeking God for revival.
To ask for revival is to ask to be made alive.
Make us alive in the midst of so much death and destruction. Make us truly live so that we may see you working in the chaos around us. We ask for this so that we may have joy in the face of difficulty.
Amen