Refreshed and Restored

We often hear the word revival in the church, but we might wonder what revival is exactly. I think we overly mystify this word and don’t necessarily understand its actual meaning.

Revival is another word for refreshment, restoration, or simply returning something to its original condition.

For instance, when someone buys an old car from the junkyard, does bodywork on it, repaints it, adds new tires and wheels, and puts in a new engine, that is a restoration. When you see it rolling down the road, you can’t believe it’s the same car.

Or if you have a plant that’s withering, but it comes back to life again after you’ve watered it, that is a restoration as well.

The psalmist prayed, “Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6 NLT). And Psalm 80:19 says, “Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved” (NLT).

Revival is refreshment. Revival is restoration. For the believer, revival is getting back to that first bloom of a love relationship with Jesus Christ. Sometimes when we’ve been walking with the Lord for a while, the passion begins to fade. The zeal begins to erode, and we don’t have the same excitement in walking with the Lord as we had before.

We want longevity as we walk with Christ, but we don’t want to sacrifice our passion.

Revival takes place when God’s people come back to life again because they are refreshed. They have been refilled and restored to their original condition.

And what is the original condition? It’s the same condition as the church of the first century, the church of the book of Acts. It’s the church that turned their world upside down.