Isaiah 64:1 (NKJV) “Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence.”
How
can you carry this burden in the spirit of Isaiah’s passion? Ask God to
rend the heavens in your life. God does the opening – you prepare the
soil.
spirit,” but very few actually know what it means. It means, “Blessed
are the beggars.” It all begins here – we have to be desperate for more
of God. Which leads to the second point.
2. Desperation fuels desire:
desperation to propel you closer to God. There is truth in the song,
“God blessed the broken road that led me straight to You.”
Ask
Him to come down like rain on barren soil; like a mighty river in a
parched land – “Oh, that You would rend the heavens.” A downpour
nourishes, restores, replenishes, and revives – it makes alive. You may
feel dead and dry, but don’t give up. “God, come down” must be the
desperate cry of your heart.
Don’t be too proud to cry out to God
or you’ll never experience a downpour. Do you see the irony, or better
yet, the ignorance in this? We’ll cry out to entertainment, alcohol,
and lust to nourish our parched soul, but not to the God who created and
sustains us.
You may be “a good Christian” – you may even “know
your Bible,” but have you truly experienced a mighty downpour? Pride
avoids answering this question, and arrogance blinds us. Desperation
makes us feel vulnerable and weak. In opposition, our pride prevents us
from seeking more of God. We are like farmers casting down a few seeds
rather than planting a bumper crop. “Oh, that You would rend the
heavens” must be our cry – our nation, families, and churches need a
massive downpour.
Be aware: Bitterness, negativity, and a
critical heart prevent downpours of God’s favor. In the same way that
sin in the nation of Israel blocked the blessings of God, wrong
attitudes can prevent a downpour. Instead of open heavens, the heavens
are slammed shut.
3. A downpour has a cost:
“He acts for the one who waits for Him.” A downpour often cannot be
rushed. Leonard Ravenhill once said, “There is no such thing as a
painless Pentecost.” The disciples waited days in an upper room before
they received a downpour. Jesus fasted 40-days and began His ministry in
“the power of the Spirit.” Those who wait on God will renew their
strength…the rain begins to form and the downpour is inevitable. Cost
is determined by value. “Life-giving preaching costs the preacher
much—death to self, crucifixion to the world, and the travail of his own
soul. Crucified preaching only can give life. Crucified preaching can
come only from a crucified man” (E.M. Bounds).
Like a farmer, we
must prepare the soil while we wait for rain. 1] Break up the fallow
ground – examine your heart and motives. Is the downpour about God’s
glory, or are you striving for popularity, position, and power. 2]
Remove excuses such as, “I don’t need that…I don’t want to get carried
away. I’m not emotional. That’s not who I am.” This is pride. Remove it
before it removes you from receiving a downpour. 3] Pull out the root
of bitterness: “If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will
be destroyed by each other” (Galatians 5:15). 4] Sow in love. So many
believers know the Bible, but they lack the fertile soil of love and
compassion. If you’re not loving, gentle, and compassionate, you didn’t
receive a downpour, or your heart has grown hard and dull. Repent today
and prepare the soil of your heart for a mighty downpour.
These
may not be easy words to hear, but in the same way, farmers don’t gently
work the soil. They use 10-ton equipment to rip and tear the soil, our
hearts must be softened as well. We need to hear hard things from time
to time. Cozy sermons void of heat will not melt our pride, and
feel-good messages void of repentance will not change anyone.
Before
receiving a downpour, Oswald Chambers stated, “God used me during those
years…but I had no conscious communion with Him. The Bible was the
dullest, most uninteresting book in existence…”.
Later he wrote,
“If the four previous years had been hell on earth, these five years
have truly been heaven on earth. Glory be to God, the last aching abyss
of the human heart is filled to overflowing with the love of God.”
Heaven was rent; the downpour came to his parched heart. Now it’s your
turn.
[written by Shane Idleman]
