Joni And Friends Daily Devotional 7 May 2024 Message
TOPIC: Preparing for Revival
“Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.” – Psalm 80:18
Who’s the person in whom God is ready to work? Who’s prepared for revival? My friend Nancy Leigh DeMoss once described what such an individual looks like. Are you ready for the Lord to do a marvelous work in your life? Maybe you’ll see yourself in this mirror…
The person God is working in is overwhelmed by a sense of spiritual need—he or she looks for the best in others. But proud people focus on others’ failures and are quick to find fault. The person God chooses surrenders control and isn’t itching to always be right, but proud people demand to have things their own way; they have to prove they are right.
Believers in whom God is moving desire to make others successful. Then there are those who do things to be a success, who are wounded when others are promoted instead of them. Revival comes to people who know they have nothing to offer God, to those who are humbled by how much they have to learn. Revival is slow to come to those who try to think of what they can do for God, to those who feel confident in how much they know.
God looks for people who are not concerned with themselves, who risk getting close to others, who receive criticism with a humble heart. God is not quick to use people who are self-centered, who keep others at arm’s length, who are defensive when criticized.
Broken people specifically confess sin. They are grieved over the root causes of their sins. Then there are those who confess in generalities. They’re mainly concerned with the consequences of their sins and with keeping up appearances.
Take a minute to pick out one or two character traits about which God whispered to you, “That’s you. Give this to me.” If we’re looking for revival to start, we need look no further than ourselves.
PRAY: Lord, change me. Make me one of your broken people who is willing to let revival begin with me.
Joni and Friends Daily Devotional 7 May 2024 written By Joni Eareckson Tada