The present danger of past revival

Have you ever gone through a time of what you would call "revival"? It may have been a community revival, where God moved in very special and powerful ways amongst a church community. Or it may have been a time of personal revival, where your relationship with God was renewed and it felt like he was at work all around you all the time.

What was that time like? How did you feel? How did God move? It is probably a wonderful memory of God's grace and faithfulness.

It's also a dangerous memory.

You may wonder how a memory of God's powerful incursion into our heart or community could be in any way dangerous, but it is. If we're not careful, remembering our times of revival in the past can rob us of experiencing times of revival in the future.

Many churches that have been around for more than 20 years have what they would call 'the golden years." Ask a long time attender about their church history and you may hear something like, "I remember when God was moving in this place. It was a time of revival, and it was amazing."

Similarly, ask anyone who has walked with God more than 20 years, and you could very likely hear about a season of life where they felt alive, passionate for Jesus, and could sense God every moment of the day.

The problem with these memories is we can fall into narrow thinking: "When God moved in my life / church before, it looked like this. Therefore, when he moves in my life / church again in the future, I'll know it's God because it will look like that again."

This is simply not true. Listen to what God says in Isaiah 43.

"Forget what happened long ago!
    Don’t think about the past.
I am creating something new.
    There it is! Do you see it?
I have put roads in deserts,
    streams in thirsty lands."

~ Isaiah 43:18-19

Wonderful memories with God are, well, wonderful. But they are also dangerous because they can put blinders on our vision for the future. We feel that if God moving in our life or church doesn't look like what we experienced before, it cannot possibly be God.

I wonder how many times we've missed God's presence today because we've been wearing yesterday's glasses.

This is why one of the most important traits we can have today as followers of Jesus is awareness. Awareness of God's present movements today is the antidote to being trapped by the blinders of memories from the past or expectations for the future.

PAUSE and REFLECT: Have you had some good times with God in the past? Do you have expectations for the future? Take a moment to come to a place of stillness and ask God, "Where are my blinders? What is causing me to be unaware of you today?"

We all have blinders. We all make dangerous assumptions about what could or could not be God at work. So the question is not "DO I have blinders?" but, "WHAT are my blinders?"

There are several practices to help us become more aware of God's presence and movements today. One of my favourites is the Prayer of Examen. If you're interested in experiencing this spiritual practice, here is a link to the audio of a video Jamie and I made for our church two years ago that takes us through the Prayer of Examen.

Perhaps you have your own ways to come to a place of awareness. The important part is not the practice itself, but the fruit the practice produces. Awareness takes both humility and surrender. We have to admit that we may not know it all, that God may work in ways we do not expect, and that we need his help to see him.

So reminisce and enjoy the memories of God's past presence. Be strengthened by them and remember his faithfulness remains today. Also set you expectations for tomorrow. You can expect him to be present and working, which will make you look with anticipation.

Then, surrender any assumption you have about how he will move or what his presence will look like, and simply ask God for the grace and awareness to see him in each moment of the day. He is creating something new in you.

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Photo by Amaury Gutierrez on Unsplash