Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
Psalm 85:6 (ESV)
Revive us. Bring life to us. Cause us to live once again. Psalm 85 is a prayer to the Lord to once again bring revival to the people of God. A prayer to our steadfast and faithful God to once again meet with us, to be among us, and to restore us again. This psalm calls for us to remember the past restorations that our God has brought into our lives. It challenges us to not get caught in the trap of saying, “What have you done for me lately?” We are to be in a position of truly understanding that our prayer for restoration, our prayer for revival, will not go unanswered because the faithfulness of the Lord in our past is the true indicator of his faithfulness to us in the future. What we need is a humble assessment of our spiritual state and a humble awareness of our proclivity to give sin power in our life. We need to feel, know, and long for the Lord to revive us again… and again… and again. Why? That we may rejoice in Him. That we may find true joy in Christ alone.
The message of Psalm 85 is a simple one. Yet, it is so difficult in daily practice. I am well versed in downplaying the grip of sin upon my heart. I think I can manage, organize, and prepare a strategy for keeping sin at a distance. I do all of this in my own strength, of course, which only reinforces the grip that sin has on me already.
The prayer is for God alone to bring revival to my heart. It is God alone that must bring life and restoration to my soul. I am utterly incapable of bringing life to my dead heart. I need God to revive me each and every day. Sin may attack and seek to destroy, but the faithful steadfast love of the Lord is abundant. So I pray with earnest expectation for the Lord of all creation to bring life again to my heart and soul. I pray for him to renew and restore my communion and fellowship with him. Only God can bring the well spring of life into my heart.
Then… O what a beautiful thought. Then I will have joy. Not a fleeting joy of simple pleasure that the things of this world offer, but true and lasting joy in the steadfast love of my heavenly Father. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, while righteousness will look down from the sky. They will meet me with a kiss. A loving kiss from my glorious Father. Joy. Everlasting joy found in the loving arms of my faithful God and Savior.