REVIVAL HELP FROM HIS COUNTENANCE
Key Verse: “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.” (v.4)
Key Theme: The Psalmist still disquieted for God.
Key Descriptive of God: My Exceeding Joy
As we shared yesterday, Psalms 42 and 43 are best understood together. Verse 5, here in Psalm 43, is also verses 5 and 11 in Psalms 42.
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance”.
3 times he will ask himself why is he cast down and 3 times he will challenge himself to HOPE IN GOD because his end goal is to be praising Him in at atmosphere of revival. That word HOPE is gaining increased attention and understanding the further we dig into the Psalms. It doesn’t come easily for us because for those who understand the brain, it is not a left-brain linear matter but rather a right-brain intuitive/experiential operation. Our present-day less-than education system pushes us into a left-brain trap where “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” rules (the mind of reason masquerading as intelligence). HOPE comes from the Tree of Life accessed only by your right-brain processor. Worship and speaking in tongues will move you there and when you are there HOPE is apprehended. It is not wishful thinking, it is an assurance. Now let us bring in verse 7 from yesterday.
DEEP CALLS UNTO DEEP
“Deep calls unto deep in the ROAR of Your waterfalls”. (v.7) When put together with verse 6, it seems that the Psalmist is describing the phenomenon that takes place in Israel where the dew of Mt.Hermon gathers and pools together into the Jordan River and at least in antiquity caused it to have waterfalls and “roar”. Even if that were not exactly so, the bigger point is “deep calls unto deep”. The hungry for revival “disquieted” soul roars from a deep place and it is calling out for the deep places in Him. “Shallow” calls won’t get it done. “Deep” calls are required. Yes, it is an assignment for intercessors— but I haven’t figured out why anyone is exempt from being an intercessor. Being an intercessor is more a maturity designation rather than a niche assignment. In other words, becoming an intercessor is a sign you have matured. A true intercessor dies to self and lives for Him like no one else. They have agreed to override their own needs and stand in the gap inter-ceding. It is truly Jesus-like posturing.
TRUE INTERCESSORS
They don’t need likes, shares, sales, a following, and publicity as their sufficiency is found “in Him”. It is why they move things. It is the ultimate WWJD role. Of course, they are not perfect, and they are learning how to have practical assignments in the 7 Mountains as they intercede— that is the ideal, but they have volunteered for what looks like the grunge work in the kingdom, but is in effect what puts them in the honor roll of heaven. They sacrifice the applause of man here for the “well done” from the Father. There is no doubt the closest seats to the throne in heaven are being occupied and will be occupied by these. It is a relational distinction. As an FYI, the “subcontracting out” of intercession to “the professionals” is a ministry concept you will not see in the scriptures. It is good to have prayer accompaniment (Jesus wanted it in the garden) but the idea of substitutionary prayer is definitely not Biblical. It is why ministry projects go sideways. “Pray without ceasing” was for everyone. Everyone has a deep place to go seeking His deep response. My 2020 prophetic word of the year was titled “2020: A Year of Roaring Justice and Raging Hope”. The horrors of what we are seeing exposed are to help us access our end of it. In fact, I feel quite certain that many who didn’t consider themselves “intercessors” have suddenly found themselves being one. We want to do and pray and pray and do. You may lean more towards praying or more towards doing but they are the two legs we all want to walk on— unless physically hindered from the doing part.
HELP OF HIS COUNTENANCE: HELP OF MY COUNTENANCE
Perhaps some of you have noticed a little detail. In Ps.42:5 it ends with “I shall yet praise Him for the help of HIS countenance/face.” In Ps. 42:11 and in Ps. 43:5 it has a change. “I shall yet praise Him for the help of MY countenance/face.” From HIS to MY. It is like Moses when he went up the mountain and saw God face to face and upon returning the people noted that Moses face now shone with the glory of His countenance. It was now Moses’ own shine. Here in the Summer of His Love where He has promised to show us His face, a great objective is that we, perhaps even unbeknownst to ourselves, become carriers of His countenance to the degree that others see Him as OUR countenance. As Isaiah 60:2 says “And His glory will be seen ON YOU.” I will be honest with you. That is my goal this summer. I want people, cities, and nations to experience profound HELP simply because MY FACE CARRYING HIS FACE showed up. Now here is something beautiful. Do you know what the Hebrew word here in these 3 repeat verses is for HELP? What is the HELP from His countenance, from His face? Be amazed. Yep, it’s that word YESHUA. The word that means DELIVERANCE, SALVATION, VICTORY, and JESUS! That is why we are looking at Him. That is why we want the God of Revival. We want our faces and countenances to shine with YESHUA. This broken world has never needed it more. Let’s keep beholding His face today. We are being transformed into His very image in the Summer of His Love.
Written by: Johnny Enlow
Featured Image by chris ganser on Unsplash
67 DAY COUNTDOWN SERIES
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The 67 Day Countdown Series is brought to you by Johnny and Elizabeth Enlow, founders of Restore7 ministry, as well as international speakers and best-selling authors. Among Johnny’s books are The Seven Mountain Prophecy, The Seven Mountain Mantle, Rainbow God, The Seven Mountain Renaissance, Becoming A Superhero, and RISE. Elizabeth serves as CEO and penned Rainbow God: The Seven Colors of Love and God in Every Season.
