Awake My Soul and Sing!

 

Psalm 143 - A Psalm of David

O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me. Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You. For the enemy has pursued my soul, crushing my life to the ground, making me dwell in darkness like those long since dead. My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me.I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah

Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit. Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.

Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD; I flee to You for refuge. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me. In Your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. And in Your loving devotion, cut off my enemies. Destroy all who afflict me, for I am Your servant. 

"The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” - John 3:8

If you are reading this, you are more than likely a Christian. A follower of Jesus. A disciple.

And, if you are a disciple of Christ, it is also probably true that at least once in your life you felt down, depressed, lost, confused, overwhelmed, guilty, alone, or even abandoned.

Maybe, like David, you feel hemmed in by people around you. Perhaps circumstances have pushed you down and the weight of the moment keeps you from getting up. You struggle just to breathe…to catch your next breath. 

You need to be revived. Awakened.

Don’t we all.

Unless you are completely off social media/TV/radio you have undoubtedly heard of the Asbury Awakening (as some are calling it). In a tiny little town about thirty minutes below Lexington, Ky., a spiritual awakening has occurred as God has poured his Spirit out on the students, faculty and citizens of Wilmore.  What began as a normal, mandatory, everyday Wednesday chapel service has continued non-stop. And there appears to be no stopping it. (edit: they will be shutting down Hughes Auditorium late tonight 2/18/23 (1AM) but will reopen tomorrow 2/19/23 at noon).

As a result of people coming to experience the movement of God, and then returning home to their schools and towns, God is beginning to pour out his Spirit in other places as well. Perhaps we are witnessing the birth pangs of a third great awakening? 

Now, we are not going to tackle what is a revival, what makes up a revival, how does a revival occur, or even is this a revival. At this point we tend to look at it as a spiritual awakening…a fresh move of God’s Spirit on people who hunger for holiness. Whatever you want to label this “Divine Moment”, what we are definitely seeing is God publicly calling his people to draw closer to him and to bring their lives into alignment with his character, purpose and kingdom.

Most of us will not be able to hustle on over to the rolling hills of the Bluegrass State to witness this Supernatural movement BUT…can we all not join together (no matter where we are) and pray for God to touch our lives? Can we all agree with one another to seek God’s face and ask him to forgive us of all our sin? To wipe our hearts clean from the filth of this world? To beg him to deliver us from the evil seeking to devour us? To not forget us as the world abandons us? To bring healing where there is pain? And, that we might receive a new heart made of flesh to replace the cold, stony one which has neglected to love as we have been loved?

It’s a tall order for sure. It will require a change in us. It will demand we turn off the idiot box, set down our phones, close our laptops, and put down the Sherlock Holmes (I’m talking to myself here) and take seriously the arduous and painstaking work of prayer. Prayer for ourselves, our families, our communities, our churches, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, our world. 

But, please remember…ours is not to emulate or model something just because it is working at one place. Ours is to “humble ourselves in the sight of the LORD and he will lift us up.” 

Think of it this way: we have had some severe weather across the south already this year. We can look at the radar, study wind velocity, read about CAPE, register the dew points and search for a dry line - and almost pinpoint where severe weather will occur. 

But that is not the way of the Spirit of God. 

Plead with us today for a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit…a fresh anointing of his mercy and grace…a revival of our spirits, a renewing of our hearts, a restoration of our marriages, a rejuvenation of our health, a resuscitation of our local churches. May the “Asbury Awakening” be the moment we have an awakening in all of our lives.

Now… “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”