The Word and Revival

Pastor W F Kumuyi
TEXT: NEHEMIAH 8:9-18
 
Key verse: 'For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law' ( Nehemiah 8 :9b).

 
Sorrow has its place in human affairs even though men detest it. In the midst of joy and pleasure, men by nature are prone to forgetfulness and wanton actions that drive a wedge between them and God. However, when cast down, we are made to reflect on our situation.

 
God's word has a way of breaking us down. Among the Jews, the word heard from the priests and Levities produced an effect on them: they wept and mourned because of their departure from the truth. There is however joy after sorrow. This, the priests and Levites made the Jews to understand. They commanded them to hold their peace and to make merry as their souls were revived. The wind of revival that spread through the land made the priests, the Levites, the chief fathers and all the people to desire more of the word of God. They read the book of the Law and obeyed all that God wrote through Moses; they all dwelt in booths in the feast of the seventh month as commanded.

 
God's word is still like hammer today. Sometimes, when we wander away from the truth, it is God's word that brings us back. Restoration can only be possible when we are broken. Brokenness should normally result in mourning and weeping for sins but, thereafter, the heart should be filled with joy. This agrees with God's mind as 'there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit' (Romans 8:1). However, when our peace is got through pain, we should desire more than ever before the word of God which is able to make us strong. The word in us will daily revive us and keep us joyful as we expect the coming of Christ.

 
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Though beaten by the word, I shall arise in strength.