God Will Revive Us
You, God, showered abundant rain; You revived Your inheritance when it languished.
-Psalm 68:9
Are you discouraged? Has your journey been long? Have you been under siege? Have you been betrayed, disappointed, or just hurt by people you thought were friends? Are you heartsick from the delay of your hope?
God wants to revive, refresh, restore, confirm, sustain, strengthen, perfect, and establish you... again.
Are you weary, weak, parched, exhausted, tired, and languished? Languished means, "to continue for a long time without activity or progress in an unpleasant or unwanted situation." You may feel languished, but maybe you are dormant, like a dormant volcano.
God takes action to care for those who are his. God takes the initiative. He initiates. Our God is an active, moving God. God will revive the languishing ones who are His inheritance.
We usually think of inheritance and something that we get, but the deepest meaning of inheritance is something we give to God. We are God's inheritance and he takes care of us as his.
We are the called ones who are chosen. We have surrendered to the King and become his subjects. We are disciples in that we are life-long learners who carry the teaching of God, now in Christ, into our whole lives and throughout the world.
His inheritance is our lives that have been transformed. His inheritance is the gift of our lives that we have unpacked and worked out in Christ. His inheritance is the life that he gave us that we give back to him in a life of thankful worship.
There is refreshing, reviving, renewing, re-establishing, and confirming that comes from God, sovereignty. It is like coming into a downpour of rain, or receiving an unexpected gift. We can position ourselves to receive it, and we should. We can seek God's touch and gifts, which we ought to.
Another encouraging thought from this verse, is that God will do it, because he cares and he takes care us us. That is what the psalmist is saying. He did it and by implication, he will do it again, because that is his nature.
We might not know how or when God will refresh us, but the song here tells the story that he did it and therefore it is his nature to do it. The message is that God is good, and since we are his, his inheritance, he is a good father, a good steward, and will see that we need to be confirmed again and brought out of languishment.
I am very happy about these words and take them as a promise, because God is the same today, as he was in the eyes of the psalmist who wrote this. I am living in expectation of God renewing, reviving, recalling, refreshing, and re-establishing me and every believer that I know, in this time and season.
Perseverance is so important and this word encourages us to keep on. In the meantime, I need to get my rest. We can get overtired when we do not rest.
Sometimes, when we are discouraged, because of the long wait, the battle weariness, or the heart ache from disappointements; we do not rest. We get restless and that makes us worse off. The antidote is rest.
The big refreshing rains are soon. We need to be and stay encouraged that God is coming with rains. We need to come to Jesus and walk with him and find rest for our souls as we wait for the rains.
I am encouraged by what Psalm 68:9 says. I am expectant and I am believing that God is coming with rains of refreshing. Today, tomorrow, this week, and next; and until and then even during God's refreshing; I will get my rest, so that I can enjoy, receive, and be here for the long run.
For today, in believing what God will do, and more importantly, who God is; I will rest and get my rest, taking care of my rest and letting God take care of the rest. Sounds funny, but the point is to let God be God and live out my belief in the loving Father by calming my soul and resting in Christ.
The way I get to that thought from this verse is the "You", "You", and "Your" pronouns. It is all about God and God's nature to care. And God calls us his inheritance. We are his and he cares about and takes care of what is his.
Knowing that and getting that gives me pause to let that continue to be a revelation to me. In turn, I believe it and live accordingly. And that leads to resting in Christ today, as I await the outpouring.
Resting, like waiting, is active and full of faith (faith-full-ness). I do want to get my sleep and I do need to take a day of rest. But I also live and work productively, from my rest.
I am rested and blessed and live resting in the beloved of God. And I do this, even when I am in need of being revived and am feeling majorly dormant.
Some of us have been languishing in prisons. Some of us have been hibernating. Some of us have been on the back side of the desert.
All of these (us) need reviving, renewing, re-estblishing, and confirmation from the Lord. And he is going to do it. Be encouraged and begin to cultivate expectant faith while resting in the beloved today.
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