Revive Me!
by Yulia Kariuki
There is a story in the book of Numbers 17 telling us that when the LORD spoke to Moses and asked him to collect twelve staffs, representing twelve tribes of Israel, and place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, he did just that.
Then we read in verse 8, ‘The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD’s presence to all the Israelites’.
The power of the presence of God caused a staff to bear fruit. It was not attached to any source of life to be able to do that. It had no roots for it to bud, to sprout, to blossom and produce almonds. The secret was not in the staff but in where it was - in the presence of God.
There are times in life when we feel like that, disconnected, dry, and not able to produce fruit. We try our best but we struggle to ‘sprout’, ‘bud’ or ‘blossom’. We might want to see changes in our family situation, our relationship with others, or even with ourselves. I believe God has given us a way forward in this Bible passage.
It is the presence of God which changes us, revives our dry places, and brings life back to us. Bringing things that trouble us before His presence, and being open and vulnerable, changes our perspective. When we allow His life-giving presence to touch our lives, growth happens.
I want to encourage you today to believe afresh that God is able to change the circumstances you face. His presence is gentle, yet powerful enough to move the ‘immovable’. Would you open the door of your heart a bit more today to welcome His presence?
Yulia Kariuki was born in Russia and studied translation and interpretation as her profession. She joined Ellel Ministries in 2009, after graduating from university. The same year she met her husband and Bernard and Yulia served on team for many years both in Scotland and at Ellel Grange.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
