Revival

Recently I prayed for revival in my spiritual and personal life. I have been slogging along without much joy in my life. I have lost sight of the important things in life. God brought revival in a way that I never expected and while I am thankful for the new found verve I am somewhat confused by the manner in which it came. My joy in the Lord has returned, but there is no joy about the situaiton we are currently dealing with. I do not believe that God caused this horrible tragedy, but I do believe He brings good from the worst of situations.

On January 12 a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. It was devastating news, even more so when I heard that two friends of my friends were missing at the Hotel Montana. As I write these words David is still missing.

I have prayed without ceasing these last two weeks for a man I have yet to meet. My heart has been focused on the fact that God is sovereign and can perform seemingly impossible miracles. Prayer has returned to my world and I am connected to God in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. Teressia Ward Zack, a friend of David’s wrote “In the last 12 days I have learned to keep my prayers open. They are always there! Prayer isn’t something I’m thinking about, it is something I’m feeling with every part of my being.” These words describe perfectly my current feeling. Revival is seeping into the corners of my world and I like it.

On the other hand, I struggle with the fact that this reinstatement of proper order in my life has come at other’s suffering. It is said that God works in mysterious ways. I have parroted this pithy phrase myself. Here, though, I am faced with the inscrutability of God’s way. As a Christian I am hopeful that people are able to see God in me and be changed by it. I have often thought about what I would want to come from my own suffering should I ever be in a situation like the one David has been in. I would want people to see God at work and I would want them to be encouraged.

God does indeed work in mysterious ways. Genesis 50:20 starts, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.” Through the happenings of the last two weeks I have been changed and based on what I am seeing on the Friends of David and Haiti Earthquake Hotel Montana Facebook sites I believe the revival is happening in many people. I am deeply saddened for those who have lost family and friends, but heartened to see the changes that are being wrought in the midst of this tragedy.