There are times when I’m on the mountain top spiritually. I’m in control! Nothing fazes me and it seems I can handle anything. Praising God is easy! You just can’t help but look at the sky and feel the joy of life and the joy of God’s goodness to me in so many ways. Then there are the times in the valley! Every little disappointment sends me into a tether. Discouragement cripples my emotions and I feel nothing I’ve ever done matters. Joy is only a word that I know the definition of but can’t find in my life. My mother used to say, “I’m sick and tired.” I know what she means now. Sometimes, I get sick and tired of being sick and tired.

This is where the Psalmist who wrote Psalm 85 seems to be. He’s sick and tired and can’t find anything in life worth living for. He cries out, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” That’s what we need, a revival! It’s something that has to happen often in our lives. A fresh work of God in our hearts need to take place often to keep us motivated and encouraged and focused in life. I hate washing the dishes! You wash each one off, dry it, replace it in its rightful place on the shelf only to do it all over again next month. (Ha, Ha!). A lady asked Billy Sunday: “Why do you keep having revivals when it doesn’t last?” He asked her, “Why do you keep taking baths?” It’s something that we need again and again.

It was the church’s custom to gather every Lord’s day (Sunday) for singing, prayer, and paying attention to God’s Word. The Purpose: spiritual nourishment. One of my favorite old hymns, by W. P. Mackay, is entitled, “Revive us Again.” He understood that one experience with God’s grace in our life would not sustain us for very long. He wrote:

Revive us again, fill each heart with Thy love
May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Revive us again.

Chuck
“Help us, O God of our salvation! Help us for the glory of your name. Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name.” (Psalm 79:9)