Reverence & Revival: A Seven-Day Devotional

Here are a few additional resources to guide your quiet time this week:

• Use this small group discussion guide with family, friends, and co-workers.

• Join us for our 6 AM Prayer Call, Monday through Friday (EST)

Day 1: A Vacation from the Flesh

Reverence & Revival: Summer Fast 2026

"The LORD of armies says this: ‘Consider your ways!" - Haggai 1:7

Devotional: Summer invites us to rest. The world calls it R&R: "rest and recuperation." R&R is often offered as the “much-needed” antidote to the rigor and stress of everyday life. As we open this seven-day fast, the Lord is redefining our definition of R&R. We do not merely need to step away from work; we need to step toward Him. We need a new type of R&R: reverence and revival.

Consecration is the act of separating ourselves from the daily distractions of life for one

purpose: to grow closer to the Lord. A fast is not first about what we surrender; it is about

Whom we draw near to. When we take a vacation from the flesh, we quiet the appetites that have grown louder than the Spirit, and we make room for God’s voice once again.

As we begin our fasting journey, the Lord asks the same question He asked through Haggai: “Consider your ways.” Where have my priorities drifted? What have I fed that should have been starved? This week, let us not simply rest from our labor; let us return to our Lord. Reverence is the doorway, and we are stepping through it together.

Quote: "Instead of rest and recuperation, I believe we’re in need of reverence and revival." - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.

Question: What distraction is God calling me to lay down this week so that I can draw nearer to Him?

Prayer: Father, as we begin this fast, we lay down the rest the world offers and reach for the renewal only You can give. Separate us from every distraction and draw us into Your presence. Teach us to consider our ways and to seek Your face. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Day 2: Comfort or Covenant?

Reverence & Revival: Summer Fast 2026

"Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house remains a ruin." - Haggai 1:4

Devotional: For sixteen years, God’s house lay dormant. The people had explanations for the delay: opposition from the Samaritans; political pressure on the Persian government; a volatile economy that made building expensive and labor-intensive. Yet beneath every reason was one root: they had

rationalized their way out of their responsibility. Rather than being obedient to God's covenant, comfort and convenience became their motivation.

The Lord's economic rebuke was not for the struggling; it was for those who lived in comfort while God’s house was neglected. Paneled houses were for the privileged. If the people could panel their

own homes, their conditions were never as desperate as they claimed. They seemed to have resources for everything except the one thing God had commanded.

New Vision, today, the Lord searches our priorities. We rarely refuse God outright; we simply reorder Him, placing Him after the mortgage, after the lifestyle, after the comfort we have come to expect. But covenant is not a leftover. When God is first in our finances, our comfort is

surrendered to His command.

Ultimately, if we can afford to order from Amazon, go out to eat, and take vacations, we have the ability to commit to God's program.

Today, let us trade the question “Can I afford to honor God?” for the truth that we cannot afford not to.

Quote: "Haggai made it clear: their priorities were rooted in comfort, rather than covenant."- Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.

Question: Where have I prioritized my own comfort over my covenant with God, especially in my

finances?

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for the times we have built and beautified our own houses while Yours lay

neglected. Expose every rationalization that has kept us from obedience. Reorder our

priorities until covenant outweighs comfort, and let Your house be our first concern. In

Jesus’ name, Amen.

Day 3: The Purse with Holes

Reverence & Revival: Summer Fast 2026

"Consider your ways! You have sown much, only to harvest little… and the one who earns, earns wages to put into a money belt full of holes."- Haggai 1:5-6

Devotional: There is a frustration the children of Israel knew well: laboring hard and holding little. They sowed much and harvested little. They ate but were never satisfied, drank but were never

full, dressed but were never warm. Their wages seemed to vanish, as though poured into a

purse riddled with holes. Sound familiar?

When we withhold from God what belongs to Him, He may place a spiritual lien on our

assets and garnish the wages of our labor. He can put a stop order on the dew of heaven and

a hold on the produce of the ground. This is not God’s cruelty; it is His mercy. Perhaps He is

blowing on our pockets to get our attention, calling us back before our hearts harden any

further.

A drought is an invitation. The discomfort we feel in our finances may be the Lord drawing

our eyes upward, asking us to consider our ways. The answer is not to grip our wages more

tightly but to release them more reverently. When God’s house is honored, the holes in the

purse begin to close. Today, let us hear the blowing wind not as judgment to fear, but as a

Father calling us home.

Quote: "Maybe God is blowing on your pockets… to get your attention." - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.

Question: Is there an area of withholding in my life where God may be “blowing on my pockets” to get my attention?

Prayer: Father, where we have labored and lacked, open our eyes to consider our ways. We repent

for withholding what belongs to You. Close the holes in our purse as we learn to honor You

first, and let Your blessing rest on the work of our hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Day 4: Not a Revenue Issue

Reverence & Revival: Summer Fast 2026

"…obeyed the voice of the LORD their God… And the people showed reverence for the LORD." - Haggai 1:12

Devotional: We are quick to diagnose our struggle as a shortage of resources. If only there were more income, more margin, or more money, then we could honor God fully. However, our current issue is not a revenue issue; it is a reverence issue. The problem was never how much the people had; the problem was whether or not they honored the Lord with what they had.

Notice the turning point in Haggai. The breakthrough did not begin with a windfall. It began

when the people obeyed the voice of the Lord and showed reverence for Him. Reverence

came first; provision followed. God stirred up their spirits only after their hearts had bowed.

The shift in their fortune was preceded by a shift in their fear of God.

This truth frames our entire fast. We are not gathered at 6 AM every morning to negotiate a bigger

paycheck from heaven. We are gathered to recover our reverence. When reverence is

restored, the spirit of poverty loses its grip, and we begin to walk into the kingdom

advancement and dominion God has promised for this region. Seek first the honor of God,

and the rest will follow in its order.

Quote: "New Vision: our issue is not a revenue issue; it is a reverence issue."- Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.

Question: In what way has my revenue been impacted by my reverence - or lack thereof?

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for we have sought more provision, while You were looking for deeper reverence. Realign our hearts. Let us honor You first, trusting that as we show reverence,

You will stir up our spirits and meet our needs according to Your riches in glory. In Jesus’

name, Amen.

Day 5: Demonstrated, Not Just Declared

Reverence & Revival: Summer Fast 2026

"The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of armies." - Haggai 2:8

Devotional: Reverence is honor and respect that is deeply felt and outwardly demonstrated. Reverence may begin with a feeling, but it is confirmed through an action. To say we love God without honoring Him with our resources is not true reverence; it is mere sentiment. True reverence always finds tangible expression.

That is why we are called to give our first and best to the Lord. The silver and the gold

already belong to Him; we are not enriching God when we give, we are honoring Him.

What we offer the Lord financially is the visible proof of our loyalty to Him over mammon. By contrast, to offer Him our financial leftovers exposes our worship as shallow.

Reverence also reaches beyond our wallets. If we truly revere the Lord, we cannot let sin

remain in His presence. True reverence will not allow us to harbor unforgiveness, nurse bitterness toward a brother or sister, or gossip without conviction. Reverence repents. Reverence forgives. Reverence causes us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Today, let your reverence be demonstrated through your actions.

Quote: "Reverence may begin with a feeling, but it is confirmed through an action." - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.

Question: How can I demonstrate my reverence for God today, not just in feeling, but in a concrete

act of giving, forgiveness, or obedience?

Prayer: Father, let our reverence be more than a feeling. Move our hands to give You our first and

our best, and move our hearts to repent, to forgive, and to love. The silver and the gold are

Yours; teach us to honor You with all of it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Day 6: Covenant Is Never Casual

Reverence & Revival: Summer Fast 2026

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways…" - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Devotional:  There is a word that should never describe our walk with God: casual. To be casual is to be relaxed, informal, and nonchalant; to interact without serious intent. When two people date

casually, they relate without exclusivity, commitment, or deep emotional expectation. Here's what we should consider today: have we begun to casually relate to Yahweh?

Covenant is never casual. We were never meant to be casual Christians; we were called to be

covenant believers. Yet how easily we drift into a nonchalant faith; present but not

pressing in; near but not seeking His face. We must repent for how casually we have treated

our covenant relationship with a holy God, and ask Him to shift us back into the seriousness

that covenant demands.

The pathway back is humility. “If My people who are called by My name will humble

themselves.” With humility, we must acknowledge our wandering and our wicked ways, including our unhealthy relationship with money and our withholding of what belongs to the Lord. Humility is a posture that God always answers. Pride comes before the fall; but God gives grace to the humble.

Quote: "Covenant is never casual. Lord, shift us to becoming covenant believers." - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.

Question: In what ways do we become casual in our relationship with God?

Prayer: Holy God, forgive us for ever treating our covenant with You as something casual. Humble

us in Your presence. Shift us from casual Christianity to covenant faithfulness, and draw us

to seek Your face with all seriousness and love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Day 7: Not Just in Speech, but in Seed

Reverence & Revival: Summer Fast 2026

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways…" - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Devotional:  The promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 is breathtaking: God will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. But the promise has a posture before it: humble, pray, seek, and turn from wicked ways. Among those wicked ways is our unhealthy relationship with Mammon, our

withholding from God, and our habit of building paneled houses while His house lies

neglected.

In Haggai, the Lord did not stay silent. Once the people showed reverence and returned to

His house, He declared, “I am with you,” and promised that the latter glory of the house

would surpass the former (Haggai 2:9). The same God who withheld the dew and the produce stood

ready to pour out peace and glory the moment His people honored Him. Reverence opened

the floodgates of heaven.

So as this fast ends and the work of revival begins. Remember that reverence is

demonstrated. Reverence is more than what we sing or say; it's also what we sow. This is how the spirit of poverty will be broken off our congregation and our households. It's time to walk into a new level of kingdom advancement and revival in the northeast.

Quote: "If we want revival, then we must demonstrate our reverence for a holy God. Not just in speech or song, but in seed." - Pastor Dexter B. Upshaw Jr.

Question: As this fast ends, what “seed” of reverence is God asking us to sow so that revival can take root in our households and our church?

Prayer: Lord of hosts, we have humbled ourselves, sought Your face, and turned from our wicked

ways. Now hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. Break the spirit of poverty

off of our lives. Fill Your house with latter glory. Accept our reverence, demonstrated in speech and seed. Revive us and let Your Kingdom come. In Jesus’ name, Amen.