Beyond Revival: What Is God Forming in Us?
An Open Letter to the Church
by Raimer R. ~ October 23, 2026
by Raimer R. ~ October 23, 2026
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We need revival. We need the Holy Spirit to awaken our hearts, renew our love for Jesus, and bring conviction that leads to repentance. We need Him to reveal the greatness of God in ways that go far beyond what we could ever accomplish ourselves. We should never stop longing for extraordinary encounters with the living God.
But there is a question I believe we need to consider: What is God preparing us for when He awakens our hearts? Is His purpose simply that we experience more of His presence and power? Or is He awakening us so that we might become people who can follow Jesus faithfully for the rest of our lives, whatever circumstances we face?
God's purpose is far greater than an extraordinary season of revival. He is forming a people who increasingly reflect the life and character of His Son — people who know Him, love Him, and trust Him. People who walk in obedience to Him and help others do the same.
When God moves powerfully, hearts can change in remarkable ways. People who have grown spiritually cold become hungry for Him again. His Word comes alive. Conviction leads to repentance. Love for Jesus is renewed. People may experience healing, freedom, and a fresh sense of His calling.
These are wonderful gifts, and we should welcome them wholeheartedly. But an extraordinary encounter with God is not the completion of His work in us. The person who encounters God's love must still learn to love others. The person who experiences freedom must learn to walk in that freedom. The person whose heart is set ablaze must learn to remain faithful when that passion is tested.
Consider Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was poured out with extraordinary power, and thousands responded to the gospel. Yet Acts 2:42 tells us that these new believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer. They began learning to follow Jesus together. The outpouring did not eliminate their need for discipleship.
Revival can awaken us to God, but formation helps that awakening take root in the whole of our lives.
Spiritual maturity involves much more than knowing the Bible or having powerful experiences with God. We may understand that Jesus calls us to forgive while still holding on to resentment. We may believe that God is trustworthy while remaining controlled by fear. We may worship passionately in church while struggling to show patience and kindness at home.
The deeper question is not simply what we know, but what we are becoming. Jonathan Edwards, a pastor during the First Great Awakening, recognized this distinction. He emphasized that genuine spiritual transformation reaches our deepest affections — what we love, desire, value, and choose. Its evidence is not merely the intensity of religious experience, but a life increasingly marked by Christlike character and obedience.¹
This is the work of holistic discipleship. God renews our minds so we learn to think as Jesus thinks. He reorders our loves so we increasingly desire what He desires. He purifies our motives and shapes our choices so that our lives reflect His character. And He calls us to participate in that work.
We cannot transform ourselves through human effort alone. But neither are we called to remain passive. We pray, engage Scripture, and repent. We obey, practice love, and receive correction. We also walk with others who help us grow.
Practices do not transform us independently of God. God transforms us as we respond to His grace and learn to walk with Him.
Here is what I believe we must understand most clearly: We are not preparing to live permanently in the extraordinary atmosphere of revival. We are preparing to follow Jesus in this world. And this world includes suffering, temptation, and disappointment. We also face opposition and uncertainty. It is one thing to worship when God's presence fills a room and everyone around us is worshiping. It is another to worship when life is painful and the future is uncertain.
Consider Paul and Silas in Acts 16. They had been beaten, thrown into prison, and fastened in stocks. Yet at midnight, they were praying and singing hymns to God. Their worship did not begin when the prison doors opened. They were singing before the earthquake came. They worshiped before they knew whether deliverance would come.
What kind of faith enables someone to respond that way? A faith deeply rooted in the character and worthiness of God. A faith that has learned to trust Him beyond favorable circumstances. And their faithfulness became a witness. Rather than simply escaping when the prison doors opened, they remained, protected the jailer's life, and shared the gospel with his household.
This is the kind of maturity Jesus is forming in us — not merely faith that survives hardship, but faith that continues to love, worship, and serve, while bearing fruit through hardship. The same Holy Spirit who awakens us through extraordinary encounters also sustains and forms us through ordinary faithfulness and costly obedience. And as we mature, we become people who can carry the life of Jesus wherever He sends us, helping others discover and follow Him.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us continue praying for revival with all our hearts. Let us welcome every fresh awakening the Holy Spirit brings. But let us not stop at the encounter. Let us embrace the lifelong journey of becoming like Jesus. Let us allow Him to renew our minds, reorder our loves, purify our motives, and shape the way we live. Let us grow together in communities where we are known, encouraged, and challenged. Let us cultivate relationships and environments where we are equipped to put His teachings into practice. And let us remember that the true measure of spiritual maturity is not how extraordinary our experiences have been, but whether our lives increasingly reflect Jesus.
Are we becoming more loving? More humble? More faithful? More courageous? Are we learning to persevere when life becomes difficult? Are we helping others grow in Him?
We need fresh fire, and we need deep roots. We need extraordinary encounters with God, and we need His ongoing work of forming us into the likeness of His Son. The true stewardship of revival is not the preservation of its intensity, but the cultivation of its enduring fruit. For we are not preparing to live in revival. We are learning to live with Jesus through every season, bearing His life into a world that desperately needs Him.
May God awaken our hearts to His greatness, form us deeply in His likeness, and cause His life to bear lasting fruit through ours.
With love for Christ and His Church,
Raimer Rojas
A fellow disciple learning to follow Jesus
¹ Jonathan Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746). Edwards writes, “True religion, in great part, consists in holy affections” (Part I). He also explains that “the affections are very much the spring of men's actions” (Part I). Most importantly, he argues that “Christian practice, or a holy life, is a great and distinguishing sign of true and saving grace” (Part III, Sign XII). Together, these statements emphasize that genuine spiritual transformation reaches beyond religious excitement into the desires of the heart and the ongoing practice of Christian obedience.