Revival in Process

Revival. It's more than a nice notion. It's more than a good religious idea. It's more than most of us understand it to be. It's certainly more than a good church activity or event. It is more than my mind was ready for. Fortunately, God was preparing my heart.
God is so loving that He began to turn over the soil of my heart quite a bit ago. He started by ridding the large stones of complacency and mediocrity. The cinder blocks of self-sufficiency and competency had to go. That was very dramatic work. Then the weeds of complaint and discontent needed work. The runner blades of a critical spirit took some digging until we got to the root: idolatry. Yep, idolatry. See, if you don't get at the roots and get them all out, the weeds will come back. Idolatry.
Recently, our church viewed a simulcast on idolatry. Titled gods at war, the pastor/teacher laid out some truths and insights that were heart rending. I was amazed to figure out what my idols are and what it really is that I really need. I need to get a really good grip on the fact that God loves me deeply. So easy to gloss over that. The example was  given of a man who went to the doctor with a cough. The doctor found it was lung cancer. Succumbing to his own fears, the doctor treated the cough and not the cancer. Never told the man he had cancer. The man thought that all was well as cancer ate him up from the inside. Sin is the cough, idolatry the cancer. Time to stop just treating the cough. Hence revival for the believer is necessary. 
Time to stop treating a list of symptoms. Time to get at the  true disease. I've been close to people that are being treated for cancer. It is not pretty. The medicine is harsh. The side-effects unseemly. There is fatigue, lost hair, marks for radiation, nausea. All part of the process. Fortunately, revival results in renewal and restoration. Holiness becomes us. There is re-energizing of our life in Christ. Peace is our treasured companion.
Revival is more than I ever imagined. I am so glad.