But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Revelation 11:11
A spiritual life can lose consciousness for lack of belief in God, prayer to God or worship of God. Like a lifeless body on an emergency room gurney, a sudden shock of the heart is needed to revive the temporarily deceased. A revival is necessary where spiritual life once thrived, but is now nonexistent or only emits a faint pulse. The Lord loves His children too much to leave them in a disconnected spiritual state. His breath fills a follower’s lungs of faith with fresh air.
Holy God brings back to life His holy prophets by breathing life into their lungs, in similar fashion to Ezekiel’s experience (Ezekiel 37:5) when the Lord’s life breath revived dry bones. As the resurrected servants of God stood to their feet, terror struck those who thought the truth tellers had been snuffed out, never to be heard from again. But with only a moment’s notice, the Lord calls His servants to ascend to heaven in a cloud, while earth’s inhabitants remained terrified in torment.
“I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:15).
A humble and contrite heart unleashes the life of Christ in a spiritual life. So, we humbly approach holy God, who is high and lifted up and who longs to lift us up with our prayers of repentance and rejoicing. Our Heavenly Father is drawn to our desperate need for Him. He reaches out with both hands, lays them on our head and renews our mind with His truth. We call on His name, because He is worthy of our worship and because we need His face to shine on our face in faith.
Do you need a jolt from Jesus to bring your faith alive? One evidence of a revived spiritual life is to turn toward the Lord and to turn away from sin. Perhaps your appetite for God is starved and needs an intravenous line of love from the Lord Almighty to restore your spiritual life. Engage the Holy Spirit with a humble spirit, and He will revive your spirit. Seek Christ with a contrite heart and He will restore the joy of your salvation. God revives, so we can thrive for Him!
“They will see God’s face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being” (Job 33:26).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, revive my spirit to follow Your Spirit, give me spiritual life through Your life.
Application: What area of my spiritual life needs to be revived by the Spirit of God?
Related Readings: Psalm 51:10-12, 80:18-19; Hosea 6:2; Acts 3:21; 1 Peter 5:10