The Rumbling

Devotional

The Rumbling

Psalm 85:6 gives revival its proper direction: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” Revival is not simply increased activity, emotional excitement, or a crowded church. It is God working among His people so that hearts awaken, truth becomes urgent, and people begin responding to Him.

The song, The Rumbling, begins before anyone is certain what is happening: “We feel a rumbling / Not sure what it can be.” The shared language matters: the congregation is witnessing something together, even as each person must respond to God personally. Sometimes the first evidence of spiritual movement is remarkably quiet. Someone begins listening differently. A familiar Scripture suddenly reaches deeper. A person who has remained seated decides to move. What appears small from the outside may represent something profound occurring within a heart.

Acts 2 shows what can happen when the Spirit works among people gathered around the truth of God. Peter preached, the people heard, and they were “pricked in their heart” (Acts 2:37). Their response followed the work already taking place within them. The preaching mattered. The listening mattered. But neither manufactured what happened. God was at work.

That distinction matters whenever we begin to sense a “rumbling.” We should neither dismiss every stirring nor automatically declare every emotional moment to be revival. Jesus said of the Spirit, “he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). Whatever awakening God brings will agree with His Word, draw attention toward Christ, produce repentance and obedience, and change more than the atmosphere of a meeting.

The song, The Rumbling, moves from “Not sure what it can be” through a growing recognition of the Spirit’s work, and finally to “We feel a rumbling / Like a new beginning foreseen.” That progression is important. Scripture repeatedly connects God’s work with genuine change. Ezekiel 36:26 promises, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” Romans 6:4 speaks of walking “in newness of life.” Spiritual awakening becomes recognizable through its fruit: hearts soften, pride gives way to humility, people hunger for Scripture, sin becomes harder to excuse, forgiveness becomes easier to offer, and love begins reaching beyond the walls where the awakening started.

The bridge’s image of “crooked paths” also has a clear biblical echo. Luke 3:5 says, “the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth.” The song’s “Holy straightening” is not cosmetic improvement. It points toward God correcting what has bent away from Him and preparing His people to walk differently.

And the song’s “bottomlessness” of love reaches toward the language of Ephesians 3:18–19: “the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” and “the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” The bridge describes that love reaching outward into all of His creation. The deeper God’s love becomes known in us, the less it can remain contained within us. First John 4:7 gives the source plainly: “love is of God.” The love that reaches outward does not originate in our own spiritual enthusiasm; it is received from Him and then given away.

That helps explain why revival can be humbling. If God is moving, we cannot claim ownership of it. We may teach, sing, pray, encourage, listen, or simply step into an aisle—but God remains the One who changes hearts.

James 4:8 turns the question toward each of us personally: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” Before wondering whether revival is beginning around us, we can ask whether God is awakening something within us. Am I drawing nearer to Him? Am I becoming more responsive to His Word? Is there something He has been asking me to surrender? Is my love becoming deeper, wider, and less concerned with myself?

We do not need to manufacture the rumbling.

We need to be willing to respond when God calls.

Perhaps revival begins exactly there: one heart awakened, one person humbled, one step into the aisle—and then another.

Prayer

Lord, if You are stirring something among us, help me not merely to watch it happen around me. Awaken my heart. Show me what needs to change, what needs to be surrendered, and where You are asking me to move. Keep me grounded in Your Word so that I recognize Your truth and do not mistake emotion for Your leading. Humble me enough to know that revival belongs to You, not to us. Deepen my love for You and let that love reach outward to others. And when You call me to take that first step into the aisle, give me the courage to stand and move.

Amen.