This week, our church held a Spring Revival Week. It came just in time for many of us. A long, cold winter and some grumpy hibernating bears made for a few pretty rough months. It seemed that the things that people were grumpy about had something in common, but in my view it was hard for them to see the common thread. In the days and weeks leading up to the revival services, we prayed, some fasted, and we determined to seek the Lord because it didn't look like the cold or the grumpiness was going to stop on its own.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Matthew 6:33.
This verse comes in the Bible in the middle of a talk about not worrying. The examples mentioned included not worrying about food, clothing, or the things of tomorrow. I had been praying that God would give me some insight into the grumblings I have been hearing and he did just that. He impressed upon me to pray and leave these types of worrying up to Him. I was tending to act as if my superior understanding of these troubling situations,and my experience and level-headedness would somehow swoop in and save the day. I found however that the more I sought to figure out how to sort through the evil attacks and come up with a human conclusion, the more tangled I became. Finally, I bowed out and bowed down.
When it comes to mean-spirited arguments, There is no way to win on our own and there is no way to understand wickedness. " For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."... Ephesians 6:12
Maybe someone did say or do something they shouldn't have. Maybe someone was disrespected. It happens every day. It is the perfect opportunity for Satan to start a distraction that keeps people from seeking the God and His righteousness. So we had a choice to make. Continue to feed our ego and pride by trying to out-maneuver the prince of darkness, or ask God to handle it while we got back to our job of seeking the righteousness of God.
And then, it happened.....
It was a sweet experience to see people who understood the situation begin to humble themselves and pray, begin to forgive, begin to worship God more fully, and place their own egos and pride lower and lower so they could see over them and glimpse the most awesome power in the universe, God himself and His Kingdom.
I would like to say everyone reached that point, but like everything in this life, it is a learning experience. I will also admit that months from now, I will probably need to be reminded of this all over again. However, when I am reminded of the simple request of Jesus, "Follow Me," I am also reminded how hard it is to do in a world filled with evil attacks. A time of revival is a time when I am reminded of the goal..... Seek First the Kingdom of Heaven and leave to God the things that I am poorly equipped to handle anyway. Only then can we be lifted up by the experience of being fully engaged in the plan God created us to fulfill.
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