Creating an Opening

What is revival?

And why do we need breakthrough to experience it?

“Revival” may be defined in various ways. Still, essentially, it is a season of powerful visitation from God that includes the presence of the Holy Spirit made manifest: the God of heaven is felt and recognized in a tangible way on earth.

When the Lord shows up in this way, His church is restored to life, and believers have a renewed love for the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s people become true salt and light, demonstrating His love and power to a spiritually needy world, serving as carriers of His glory throughout the earth.

Breakthrough is required for revival because, often, the church has grown dry or cold and desperately needs the renewal I described above. Such a breakthrough begins as we create an opening for God to intervene in our lives and the lives of others.

Yearning for God’s “House”

Our Scripture passage for this day’s devotion is Mark 2:1–5. Let’s begin by looking at verse 1:

When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home. (Mark 2:1)

Jesus was “at home.” Don’t you love that phrase? And isn’t that our goal—for Jesus to feel at home in our lives? Yes! Is Jesus at home in your house, family, congregation, or city? He said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23 NIV).

I believe many churches and individual believers have set the bar too low when it comes to experiencing the manifest presence of God—or whatever phraseology you prefer to use to describe when the Lord “shows up” in glory and power. Unfortunately, when He does show up for many believers, it’s more of an exception than a regular occurrence in which they joyfully exclaim, “Wow, it’s God again!” I think that’s an unnatural state of affairs for God’s sons and daughters. Too often, we treat Him like He’s only a Guest in our home rather than the Homeowner that He truly is.

What might you need to do to have God be more than just an honored Guest who occasionally shows up in your life?

Hungry for Revelation

And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. (Mark 2:2)

When Jesus is in His “temple,” feeling at home, people gather, and revelation rests on the Word of God. Other places in the Gospels speak of similar gatherings. The people in attendance at such meetings hung on Jesus’s every word. I need to return to that kind of hunger, to that point of wanting to—needing to—hang on to Jesus’s every word, to every word I read in the Bible. How about you?

Desperate for Change

And some people came, bringing to Him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men. (Mark 2:3)

Four men became desperate for a physical breakthrough for their paralyzed friend. They carried the man, perhaps a great distance, to see the Healer. Their compassion led them to sacrifice their time and effort to give their friend hope—putting faith to work.

What are you desperate for? What stirs your compassion? Are you putting your faith to work in that situation?

Determined to See God Work

And when they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralyzed man was lying. (Mark 2:4)

The five men must have been disappointed and frustrated when they first arrived and realized they could not get close to Jesus. Seeing the crowd, they could have given up in discouragement. I understand such a feeling. Sometimes, I am really tempted to give up during my journey of believing for a great harvest of souls for God. But they didn’t give up, and I don’t either.

Although weary from their journey and seeing the obstacles before them, the men moved from the natural to the supernatural to find the solution they needed: “We’ll tear the roof off the house!”

No doubt, their digging caused some commotion among the people gathered below. Then they lowered their friend in front of Jesus. This was an actual physical revival breakthrough! Even though it meant disrupting the whole meeting, the men were determined to bring their friend into the presence of the living Messiah.

How much determination do you have to bring your friends and loved ones into the presence of Jesus for salvation, healing, or deliverance?

Full of Faith for Breakthrough

And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5)

This verse doesn’t say that Jesus saw the faith of the paralytic. Neither does it say that Jesus didn’t see the faith of the paralytic. It says that Jesus saw “their faith.” Sometimes, that’s all it takes. Not one person’s faith but our combined faith. Jesus saw all their faith together.

Then Jesus spoke to the paralytic. But He didn’t say, “Arise and be healed.” Instead, He spoke a deeper word, a revival breakthrough word. He spoke to the man’s heart and soul. Jesus saw their faith, and now He spoke to the paralytic man, saying, “Son, your sins are forgiven”—and the man’s body was healed at the same time. May these words echo through our lives today and heal the sick body of Christ to be raised to wholeness.

Now that’s a parable for us to ingest and digest!

As in Mark 2:1–5, we need to “blow the roof off” of our limited mind­sets and thinking to believe the Lord for extraordinary works of grace in our world. Desperate times require desperate measures. We need desperate laborers to arise—those who are not content with the status quo but are willing to expend themselves to lower other people into the presence of the same dear Lord Jesus Christ.