May This Be Our Awakening

By: Joanne Viola

 

The days of this pandemic crisis continue on, one day blending into another, making it easy to lose sight of time. Some days seem like they could come right out of the story line from a drama series or sci-fi movie. It would be more than wonderful to wake up one morning and be told it has all passed and life can resume as before.

The psalmist expresses it well in Psalm 126:

“When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.” (verses 1-2, NLT)

I long for that day to come, as I am sure we all do. In this time of waiting, we want to awaken from this time and be restored to the joy and laughter we once had.

But we cannot deny these days are doing a much needed work. These days are a turning point, they are momentous, shifting us to what should be our point of focus.

As the captives make their return from exile, they longed for their to be a unified purpose, and asked for the Book of the Law of Moses to be read to them. They hungered for the Word, remaining standing for the three hours God’s Word was read to them. Then for three hours more they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord (see Nehemiah 8-9).

“It is after the darkest times in history that God has made the pure truth of his light to shine the brightest.”
(Steven J. Lawson, from Holman Old Testament Commentary, Vol.12)

So what can we be doing in the midst of these days?

• Remember. We need to remember what the Lord has done in days past, for He will yet do them again. “Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!” (verse 3, NLT). We need to remember He is faithful and His hand is on His people.
• Restoration. Much the say the psalmist prayed for the Lord to restore, we too, need to ask the Lord to restore the many blessings He has bestowed on us, as a people and a nation. “Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert” (verse 4, NLT). God can transform what seems to be dry and desolate and make it into a time full of growth and life.
• Repentance. Sorrow leads to repentance, which in turn will bring in a harvest of blessing. “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy” (verse 5, NLT). Repentance is the way back to a restored relationship with God.

May our souls be awakened to the Lord’s presence at work in these present times. May we desire to know Him and be restored to Him and to each other. May we long for His will to be done in our hearts and in this nation.

May we hear His voice and this be our awakening.

Photo by Emma on Unsplash