Trouble often accompanies revival. Every Great Awakening this nation has witnessed was preceded by national crises. We see the same troublesome aspects of revival in God’s word. While most of us could quote from memory the great revival promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14, few could cite the preceding verse. “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people . . .”
The often-overlooked fact is that God uses trouble to motivate His people to seek Him. Here are a few examples of how trouble preceded the great spiritual awakenings, when multitudes came to Christ, in American history:
- Prior to the First Great Awakening, a major earthquake struck New England in 1727. It motivated the children of Puritan settlers to return passionately to the faith of their fathers and seek a revival. Movements such as Methodism, and great preachers such as Jonathan Edwards arose out of this revival but few remember the fearful event that preceded it.
- In the grim post war years following the founding of the United States the nation was bankrupt. Crops were plagued by “canker worms” (probably something like the gypsy moth) and smallpox was rampant. A fear of terrorism on the frontier and at sea, and two national financial crises kept God’s people on their knees, very aware of their need of Him. It led to an era known as the Second Great Awakening and millions came to Christ.
- In the early 1900’s the nation reeled under the strains of urbanization, the industrial revolution, the proliferation of alcohol, and many families were shattered by those stressors. In April of 1906, the Great San Francisco Earthquake decimated northern California. And, in the same month, a humble band of believers, on a street named Azusa in southern California, experienced a revival, the effects of which linger until today.
- In the mid 1900’s the nation struggled to maintain its equilibrium. Assassinations, civil rights conflicts, the Vietnam War and anti-war riots, Watergate, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War, the Sexual Revolution and increasing poverty set the stage for the Jesus Movement, out of which many of us were converted – the last significant spiritual awakening this country has seen.
Pundits are fond of saying that “politicians never waste a crisis.” They mean that political parties use and magnify crises to advance their agenda. The shocking news is that it appears God never wastes a crisis either if His people use it to seek Him as well! The question is: Are we listening? The “troubles” created the conditions for these revivals. Looking back, we see how God’s people used them as motivation to pray and seek God rather than be afraid.
So, the Coronavirus (truly a “pestilence” as in 2 Chron. 7:13) is here to teach us. But if all it teaches spiritual leaders is how to use technology to preach to empty sanctuaries while saints sit at home and watch on their computers, the Church will have wasted a crisis that God is allowing to test the planet. While we practice social distancing to avoid catching a physical virus, perhaps we should consider whether the Coronavirus exists to reveal a deeper disease we are carrying. Maybe, as Hosea wrote in is time, we should “consider our ways” – lest this trouble goes to waste.
Mark Barnard is the author of The Path of Revival: Restoring Our Nation – One Church at a Time. He has served with Blessing Point Ministries since 2006. Blessing Point Ministries exists to help churches experience breakthrough moments in ministry, particularly in the area of corporate healing.