Keepsake Revival
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of September 13, 2020
When I think of a keepsake, I think of a cherished memento that brings a remembrance of what we hold dear, like people close to our hearts or special events, such as a wedding or birthing.
Dictionary.com defines keepsake as "anything kept, or given to be kept, as a token of friendship or affection; remembrance." Some synonyms of keepsake are: favor, reminder, memorial, symbol and token (Thesaurus.com).
When searched in an online Bible, "keepsake" is associated with the word "token."
Token in Hebrew, can mean a promise or a solemn pledge, such as words spoken from God's heart or in the form of a sign of covenant, such a rainbow or a circumcision (Strong's #226-oth).
Token in Greek means to have, hold or possess (Strong's #2192-echó).
This brings to mind wedding vows and rings—symbols of covenant, where the bride is given to have and to hold, to possess God's promises.
In seeking The Lord about “keepsake revival,” the message He revealed to me was this:
As we come more deeply in relationship with God, He will bring revival to family members we hold dear in our hearts and revival of our relationship with them. God’s desire is to re-set and re-establish family legacy for everyone’s benefit, including building next generations. God’s desire is to revive family members from false beliefs and dead ways as they reconcile more deeply with Him, then each other. The Lord will bring new life with a new perspective to old hearts and young attitudes.
During visits with these family members, He will break open communication with one another to give us deeper understanding, lighter hearts and new memories we've longed for—a clearer connection, a refreshing. In doing so, God is giving us a “token of grace” (a keepsake) and a “second experience of grace” (2 Co 5:17) to hold in our hearts as treasure of His goodness.
We will experience a renewed love and joy toward one another as we experience a distinctive before and after difference that will strengthen individual relationships and the family overall. It can happen to the extent that painful pasts will be washed away as if they never occurred.
For those family members who are not so close, God is bringing reform that will foster deep reconciliation with Him and repair with us that will impress us with awesome wonder, knowing God alone brought the restoration.
I believe David experienced this when his family members met him in the cave of Adullam, where he was strengthened (fortified and multiplied) before moving closer to his promise of coronation (1 Sa 22:1-5).
Let’s remember that God offers redemption and fruitfulness to even the hardest cases, like some of us.
Think Jacob.
Psalm 44:4 NIV says, "You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob."
No one is too difficult for God to reach.
Hosea 12:3-6, 13 NLT reflect on Jacob’s journey. They say, "Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him—the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the LORD is his name! So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him...the LORD brought Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt and...they were protected."
God did the impossible with Jacob. The Lord enabled Jacob to come to the end of himself, then reconcile with The Lord, then reconcile with his brother, Esau (Ge 32:24).
This is God's order of reconciliation.
And now, it’s our time to do the same.
We can extend the heart of gracious Esau and Christ, simply out of His overwhelming joy and a desire to not cause more pain.
We can experience the rich mercy of forgiveness as family prodigals reconcile with God and us.
We can experience "better" in the form of a keepsake revival forward that God promises to extend beyond us (Ge 33:4-5).
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NIV assure us that "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."
May we be compelled by Christ's love (2 Co 5:14) to minister reconciliation from a Spirit of Grace, being available to meet with family members as led by Holy Spirit.
May we minister according to Isaiah 43:18, which reminds us to "Forget the former things;” and “not dwell on the past."
May we see that God is "doing a new thing.” And as it “springs up," let us "perceive it” (Is 43:18).
Like Esau and King David, let us not stop short in the challenges, because victory is assured, just as it was for Jacob.
In Jesus' Mighty Name.
Amen
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
