LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2
From time to time everyone needs a revival and there is no better time to take stock of one’s spiritual pulse than at the beginning of a New Year.
In Habakkuk 3:2, the prophet Habakkuk takes stock of the spiritual environment around him. He reveals that he had heard of the LORD’s fame, but it is no longer evident in his day. Perhaps he had heard about the Lord providing a lamb in the nick of time for Abraham’s sacrifice (Genesis 22: 12-14). Or maybe he had heard about Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5) or going up Mount Sinai to collect the tablets of stone inscribed with the ten commandments and how God’s voice had thundered out of the fire and smoke leaving the children of Israel trembling with fear (Exodus 20:18). Maybe he had heard of the ten plagues in Egypt and how God had rescued his people from captivity (Exodus 7:14-11:10). Whatever the case, the prophet, like us, had heard of a God whom he did not exactly see in his day. What the prophet observed in his day was scarcity and spiritual dryness (Habakkuk 3: 17) and he knew that a spiritual intervention was absolutely necessary. The land needed a revival. The people needed a revival.
If at the beginning of this year, you are in the same place as Habakkuk was. If you are hungering for a spiritual revival, now is the time to cry out to God as Habakkuk did. Now is the time to call upon the Holy Spirit for a fresh outpouring of his PRESENCE and power upon your life, upon your nation, and upon the world. Now is the time to turn over a new page and say, “No more dead religion, let there be a revival in the land. From the north, south, east and west, let there be a revival in the land (Carol Haggkvist, 2011).”
Father in Heaven, thank you for bringing me into this New Year. Let your Holy Spirit fall afresh on me. Renew your deeds in our day and in your wrath, remember mercy, O God! May my life bring you nothing but glory and honor. Amen!