Have We Misunderstood How God Views Revival?

The call for revival is everywhere in Christian culture, but what does that really mean? For some revival might be measured by increased church attendance or increased financial giving. Or whether the next big stadium event was a success. Or maybe how quickly the follower count grows on a Christian influencers social media platform. I’ve been reflecting on all of this for some time as I have been seeking the Lord on how to steward this idea He has given me to write a revival focused magazine for families. 

What I have landed on is real revival needs to be a call to awaken a generation of parents that has become exhausted, distracted, overstimulated, and disconnected in their homes with their own families. We’ve become a generation of adults just too busy to consider that a relationship with Jesus is the hole in their soul they are trying to fill with everything else. And don’t we all know, the world really does offer A LOT of solutions outside of God to fill that hole. 

While I believe that people do get truly saved at revival stadium events, or large altar calls,when scripture talks about revival, God is describing something different that is not necessarily measured in number of attendees or viral reshares on social media. When we look at the examples in scripture, it shows us most real revival happens on a much smaller, humbler scale. Don’t mistake the size of this kind of revival for something not worth pursuing. Sure, it might not have the wow factor of 30,000 people gathered in one place, but don’t forget, God is a God of working tiniest mustard seed of beginnings into something beyond our imagination. That is what we are going to explore in this article, and it is the core of what the “Homeward Revival” project is all about.  

Joel 2:12-13 says ““Even now,” declares the Lord,  “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”Rend your heart  and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love,  and he relents from sending calamity.”

The first key to revival is a true repentance, which simply means a sincere change of heart, a willingness to leave our old ways behind and truly surrender our life to the Lord. This looks like letting go of the things we cling to in this world to bring us purpose and satisfaction and laying it all at God’s feet, telling Him, “I want to love and serve You instead.” 

Scripture consistently shows us that the kind of “revival” the Lord desires is not rooted in emotional excitement, large crowds with public displays, or outward religious activity. True revival in the Bible is marked by the deep spiritual fruit that happens when a heart is repentant and fully surrendered. Fruit like holiness, justice, humility, obedience, restored worship, and love for God and neighbor. 

I also want to touch on the topic of cultural revival, as in we need our nations and culture to be shaped by Christianity. While that would be amazing to live in a fully, genuine Christian society, I don’t believe the creation of that is something God commands in His word. In fact His word shows us that a society like that is not necessary for our salvation, and that our salvation is what He is most concerned about. Hear me out, because I know this is somewhat of a heated topic that people feel very passionately about on both sides. I am not saying that as Christians we shouldn’t care about having a positive influence on our communities and countries, or that we sit idly by when there are practical things we can do to improve our society. What I am trying to say is that I see so many people get caught up in this idea that revival isn’t happening unless we get to a place where everything is shaped by Christian culture.  I don’t believe that is the revival God is looking for. He can change hearts, He is in control of who our leaders are (good or bad) and surely has the power to transform nations. But He also leaves our freewill intact. I think when we look at what scripture really says, we will find that our assignment is to facilitate change on a much smaller scale, that then is multiplied as it spreads from family to family, and church to church because it is rooted in real repentance and obedience to the Lord. 

God has never been impressed by outward religious performance. This is the kind of performance that says “look at how righteous I am” or in our modern world, “look at what a good Christian I am and all the Christian things I do”. The difference between this kind of performance and just living out our faith publicly and boldly is the heart posture behind it. 

In Amos 5:21-24 God shows us what He thinks about religious performance and empty worship, and it shows just how serious this is to Him. Those verses say: “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;  your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.Away with the noise of your songs!  I will not listen to the music of your harps.But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

Wow, that is sobering. Again, there is nothing wrong with large gatherings, but there needs to be a genuine heart of love and worship behind it. 

Isaiah 58:1-11 also shares a glimpse of God’s heart towards the performance of religious acts while our own hearts are still not fully surrendered to Him. The take away and warning in these passages of scripture (and many more throughout the whole Bible) is that whatever we think we are gaining spiritually from going through the motions or even from big “emotional experiences” that many revival events can produce, really we are gaining nothing. If anything it is clear that this false revival is very displeasing to the Lord. 

Why is it displeasing to Him? Because what He is really after is our true love for Him. He loves us with such a deep, everlasting love that our human minds can only begin to comprehend. I dwell on that often. I know the love I have for my husband and my children and to think that is only a taste of how much Jesus loves us is really hard to wrap my head around. 

And what is true love? It’s not forced. That is why God created us with free will. The choice to turn to Him and give Him our life and our devotion has to be our choice, or it's just not genuine. Think about what your life would be like if you knew your spouse or children were just going through the motions when it came to their love for you. Maybe some of you have experienced that, it's hard and painful, and not what God has intended.

This is why I believe so strongly that when scripture talks about the theme of revival, or as it is more plainly stated in the Bible “reviving our faith”, it is talking about something so much simpler, but also deeper than what our modern Christian culture has labeled revival. 

There are more than 50 passages of scripture that talk about the theme of reviving our faith or reviving our hearts the Lord, and all of them follow this pattern: God's people drift away.

Conviction of sin occurs.Repentance follows.People return to God's Word. Worship is restored. Obedience increases. God blesses and renews His people

What these patterns through the whole Bible show us is that true revival means a true change of heart that is marked by surrender and obedience to God. That change of heart should then be evident by how we speak to our children, how we treat our spouses, how we spend our evenings or time together, what fills our homes, what we prioritize, what we repent of, and how we love our neighbors.

So what I think the Lord is really trying to tell us through all the many examples He has given us to illustrate this “changing of heart” is that revival actually begins on a very small and intimate scale, right in our homes. First with ourselves, and then pouring over into the children He has trusted us with loving and stewarding. 

Just imagine if every home around the world that says they love Jesus actually followed the Biblical pattern for revival. There would be so much fruit. Then the neighbors and other people you interact with would notice the fruit. They would be drawn to you to ask how you do it because deep down they too have been longing for the things they see you have. Things like a family that genuinely enjoys each other, joy in the midst of any circumstance, love and tenderness. Peacefulness, grace, and all the other things we know to be true when we are operating from a place of true surrender to the Lord. Then, what if that neighbor's life becomes transformed as well? And then their neighbors’ lives too. 

And let's talk about our own children, because that is really the heart of this project. I think about the numbers related to this all the time. We have 6 children, and if all of them went on to have their own families of even just 4 children, and then their children had children, in just a few short generations there could be over 100 believers just from our decision to be true followers of Jesus. Now multiply that across every believer and their home. That has true, lasting generational impact. 

This picture always brings up the argument, “Well, you don’t know for sure if your children will remain Christians once they become adults.” And that is true. I am not my children’s Holy Spirit. I don’t know the choices they will make as the years come when they are out on their own. 

But that is also the whole point of Homeward Revival. As parents, I hope to encourage you to have the big picture vision of “how can I live my life and pour into my children so that they leave my home someday having fully experienced the love, grace, and mercy of Jesus is such a tangible way that they have no doubt in their mind that He is the way the, truth, and the life.” 

No, we can’t guarantee that every one of our children will always follow Him. I actually think the idea that we can somehow control our children’s salvation is a damaging one when it places a burden and guilt on a faithful parent whose child walks away from the Lord. It happens, and it does not take God by surprise, and He still has a plan for the life of that child who walks away. If that is your child right now, keep praying. We can have faith that anything we pray aligned with God’s will will be answered, and it is God’s will that no one is lost. 

As I have been shaping Homeward Revival over the last year I have spent a lot of time reading the testimonies of adults who grew up in Christian homes but have now walked away from the Lord, or if they do still follow Him they have made a point to practice their faith very differently than how they grew up. 

While the stories are as unique as the people telling them, I do see one consistent theme through every single one. That theme is parents who, while maybe even very well intentioned, taught one thing about God but lived out something very counter to what they professed. The parents who quoted scripture about God’s love like it was second nature but showed very little affection towards their children. The parents who could show grace and forgiveness to others, who showed up every Sunday to serve their church body, but had nothing leftover to serve their children with. You get the idea. 

Reading these testimonies has rooted such a deep conviction in me that if we want to be the start of many generations of true lovers of Jesus, then we need to be so intentional in our own walks with Him and how that translates into our life at home. 

But you know what else I have found? There are just as many testimonies of the adults whose parents followed the Lord and now they do too. What strikes me about those testimonies is not stories of a perfect childhood or perfect parents, but childhoods where there was no doubt in the child’s mind how much their parents loved them. The common theme in these testimonies are parents who make their own love and devotion to Jesus visible every day. They were quick to repentant, quick to forgive and quick to be humble. They were listeners without judgement. The ones who openly prayed for their children and their whole family. The ones who radiated the joy of the Lord no matter what life throws at them. 

Those parents are the ones drawing their children into lasting relationships with Jesus because they can’t help but see His character and His love in their parents. 

As I’ve talked with others about this Homeward Revival project the question has come up, “What do crafts and recipes, and games have to do with instilling Biblical values in your children? How is any of that going to spark revival?” Those are fair questions. My answer is this: We grow our relationship and grow trust with our children by being able to connect and interact with them on their level. For our littlest ones that might mean playing with them and as they grow that might look more like working side by side in the kitchen or on a project. In those moments of connection and side by side work, the conversation flows easier, hearts and minds are open to hearing and learning, versus a sit-down lecture. The joy and intentionality of what you are doing together creates lasting memories, not just of the activity itself but what you were talking about while doing it. I truly believe that we need that connection with our children before their hearts are ready for us to pour God’s word into them. 

He has given us so many wonderful opportunities to teach our children about Him through His creation, the gifts and talents He has given us and the food He provides. My goal with Homeward Revival is to inspire some of the creativity in all of your homes as a way to build those connections with your children.  

Maybe the real revival begins when fathers and mothers turn off the noise and distractions and open their Bibles again and turn their attention back to intentional relationships with Jesus and in turn, their children. I know this to be true, God is not looking to fill stadiums and churches with people who walk away tomorrow after the excitement and emotional experience is over. He is desiring hearts fully turned toward Him, those who are sold out, 100% in love with Him. His heart is for all to be saved. So parents, let our mission be to start the spark of revival in our homes and let the Lord do the work to multiply it. Then revival in our communities, churches, and nations will follow.