Broken

 I once read an account of the revival that took place in Hebrides Islands, off the coast of Scotland in the 1950's. A small group of believers were particularly burdened for the young people of the islands. One night, a young deacon stood up and read Psalm 24:3-5, "Who may ascend unto the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart...He shall receive blessing from the Lord." The young man then said to those gathered around him, "Brethren, it seems to me to be just so much humbug to be waiting and praying as we are, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God." These prayer warriors, in a brokenness they'd not known before, sought Him with a new found humility. A few weeks later, the Holy Spirit came upon the islands, shaking them and their people to their very foundation. They would never be the same.

I read that and wondered if such a revelation as came to that young man needs to come to me, and you as well? How often have we prayed for the Lord to do something in another that has not yet been done in us? How often have we prayed for rebellious children to have their spirit of rebellion broken while we ourselves have that same rebellious attitude? How often have pastors and leaders in a fellowship prayed for certain "stiffnecked" people to "get right," to be softened before Him, while they themselves are every bit as stiffnecked and every bit as hard? How often have we prayed for others to have more love in their lives for those around them, when we ourselves lack that very love? How often have we, the church, cried out for revival, for God to send overwhelming grace, while we have been so resistant to being overwhelmed by that grace in our individual lives? Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes, "The greatest hindrance to revival is not others unwillingness to humble themselves--it is our need to humble ourselves and confess our desperate need for His mercy."

When we come together with other believers, other pastors, other leaders, what are we more prone to do, complain or confess, accuse or admit, justify or repent? These are hard questions, but I've been pastoring for a long time now, so much of it praying for a move of His Spirit, for revival. For my world to be shaken as were the Hebrides Islands. Maybe you have too. Has it happened? Could we dare come to the place the young Scotsman came to? Could we be seeking for Him to do something in others that has not yet been done in us? Have we been trying to go to the hill of the Lord with unclean hands and impure hearts?

Many of us may have often quoted and prayed 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people, called by My name will humble themselves and pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land." In our doing so, how often have we thought that those being addressed were others and not us. He calls us to ascend His hill, but it doesn't seem we've been able to do so. We all want to go there, but seemingly on our terms and not His. We can only come broken. The way up....is down.

Blessings,
Pastor O