Send Revival-- Start With Me

~Petra "Send Revival, Start With Me"

Lord send revival, start with me
for I am one of unclean lips
and my eyes have seen the King
Your glory I have glimpsed,
send revival, start with me...

God's been doing something really crazy in me, and I really pray that I don't easily forget it. He's been making my selfish pride evident in my face, and how I tend to use my self-righteousness to judge other people. As He convicted me of my self-righteousness and pride, He led me back to His Word in Matthew 7:1-5,

when Jesus says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way, you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Ironically, in my arrogance, I jokingly (but hurtfully) pointed out a splinter in my friend's eye, but failed to see the tree in my own eye. Often times I fail to first examine myself or let God work in ME, but I can so easily point out what other people need to work on. But after that incident, God reminded me of this song, that asks God to first work in ourselves first.

After looking more closely at this song, I found out this song is based on Isaiah 6. In that chapter, Isaiah is taken to see the glory of God, and he cries "Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty" (v5). Then God takes a coal to Isaiah's lips, atoning for his sin. It's only after this that God sends Isaiah to send a message to His people in His name.

A lot of times I find myself thinking about how much our churches, fellowships, and friends need God and need Jesus. But what about myself? I think its because I don't have the larger perspective; Isaiah first needed to see how ruined HE was before God Almighty. Revival needed to start in Isaiah before he could be sent out to minister of revival for God. And I know the same is needed in myself. Though I know I'm completely redeemed in Christ Jesus, He's still working to fully crucify the Pharisee and self-righteousness in me to love other people and be a minister of His love.

I know that I honestly desire God to be glorified in the lives of other people. But before I can ask God for revival in our fellowship, church, other people, I must first ask God to heal me. Lord send revival..start with me.