Closest

 "Revival always begins among the people closest to God." - Wesley Dewell

I read that statement in Dewell's gem of a book, Revival Fire, this morning. I questioned myself if I was among those closest to God? Would you count yourself to be in that number? It would devastate me to have God moving deeply in the lives of those closest to Him and I would be on the outside looking in. 

I have written a great deal about pressing in closer to God recently. Pursuing Him. Knowing Him. Each of us is on a personal pilgrimage with the Lord. We draw closer and then fall back from time to time. We get excited in the Lord and then cool off in our affections and zeal. Each of us has room to draw closer. The question that echoes in my mind is if we desire to grow closer? 

Getting closer to God does not always mean warm fuzzies inside. Drawing closer means more revelation, more responsibility, and a greater call to righteous living. That makes some people shrink back. They are the ones who miss out on what God does in revival initially. Don't you want to be among the closest and be among the first to experience His season of refreshing? I sure do. 

The work of personal preparation is not easy work. It is often painful. I have devoted myself to the pilgrimage of personal preparation more than at any other time in my life. It was painful for me this morning as God revealed sin after sin I had not taken notice of until I asked Him to search me to uncover any wicked way. I did not like what God uncovered. Prayers of confession and repentance followed. 

May we all be repentant drawing closer so God can freely work in us. Just imagine all that He can do with a clean church. I pray none us hinders what God intends to do. I also yearn for God to draw all of us closer than we have ever been before ready to receive what He has in store.