Heart Cry for Revival

Joel 1:14 (HCSB)

Announce a sacred fast;

proclaim an assembly!

Gather the elders

and all the residents of the land

at the house of the LORD your God,

and cry out to the LORD.

The land of Israel was in a bad way. They had forsaken the Lord, and now they were reaping the consequences. There was a famine in the land. The Lord had withdrawn His hand. Times were hard. Even the cattle in the fields were starving to death.

Saddest of all, joy was gone from the house of the Lord. There was little to rejoice about. So the prophet Joel calls his people to repentance. He begins with those who serve the Lord. The ministers were to spend the night at the altar. There was to be fast. All the people were called to gather at the house of God and cry out to Him.

Are we willing to pay the price? Are we desperate enough to fast and spend a night a church repenting of our sins and crying out to God for revival? I don’t think so.

Things can get worse… a lot worse. At least there is food to eat. But when the food is gone, will we cry out then?

How bad does it have to get before we realize that we have sinned and God is using whatever He must to get our attention? When will we cry out? Wouldn’t it be better to do it now?