Revival, renewal, outpouring, and awakening are the words relating to an accelerated work of the Holy Spirit among a group of people, manifested as a strange warming of hearts and happening to draw, heal, grow, and release people in an accelerated time capsule for the purpose of making God known and loved. It happens whenever peoples’ hearts grow cold and their ordinary ways of life need a hug from heaven. It happens when our sacramental life and personal spiritual approaches are not only in desolation mode but when we see the apathy around among those who profess they follow Jesus. It’s a time when God decides that He can not contain His love submerged any longer and shows Himself unexpectedly in ways that we pray for but are not necessarily ready for. It comes as a response to prayer, seeking, carrying out the desire for wholeness on every level and it rains down sovereignly, and the only thing we can do is to respond by soaking in the waters of the Spirit in gratitude.

Revival happens when a longing for a Pentecost to happen again reaches the bottom of hearts and nothing will console them unless they get a hold of the Holy God. It often starts with one person touched by God in a profound way but it soon spreads among others because it can not be contained and because the testimony of someone’s life is a proof of a possibility to become God’s friend.

Times of revival show us that our own efforts are great but sometimes futile unless we recognize that the long obedience in the right direction still needs empowerment of the divine on the human.

An outpouring of God challenges and shifts many already established paradigms and requires humility in discerning the right ways to shepherd the move of God so it follows the nature of God that we know but also makes space for God who wants to show Himself in ways yet unknown, often humble and simple because Jesus’ meekness draws the poor in heart. It opens up a space for all in such an authentic way that everyone present knows it and no amount of Fb, TikTok or IG posts are able to convince him otherwise.

What renewal changes is this: it refreshes our hearts and unites us in Jesus’ Spirit to see what God desires and how much He loves what He created. We see His work challenging our rhythms of life to the point that reality has to hit the ground of our daily lives. In other words, what took weeks or months before in an ordinary pursuit of God becomes an integrated part of us to the point where holiness becomes our pursuit of choice, no matter the cost. Drinking deeply from the sanctifying gifts of the Spirit, we start to bring the result of abandonment in the fruit of the Spirit. We all recognize it and agree that this is beyond human power and it comes as huge sips of grace poured out in a banquet of Love.

We start seeing differently and there is no way of going back to before-this-outrageaus-grace. The memory of that encounter is etched in us and it engraves the palms of God’s hands for now we become His and He will fight for us until our last breath. We know it, even when in the future we will have doubts and try to resolve theological premises or take circumstantial evidence under the microscope of common sense. The contemplative sight will keep us seeking the relentless love of God and the charismatic force will deploy us to reach the outskirts of our existence. We will not be afraid to die to live. We will not be afraid to die in our relationships, marriages, careers, churches, communities to see the good and beautiful taking its first place so God can be glorified. We will not cease until His glory glows through us and we dress ourselves in Moses’ face, Joshua’s determination, Ezekiel’s insight, Peter’s fervor, John’s intimacy. This is what revival does and carries.

It makes us kneel and stay in awe.

If you wish to enter into the world of those who experienced revival by entering the wilderness and if you want to see how it translates into our 21st century lives, sign up for a challenge to slow down, revive your heart, heal, and pick up the pace to make all things new and carry the revival inside you, join LENT CHALLENGE.