On a recent trip to the United Kingdom, Pam and I were able to take a few extra days for some personal time. We were already in Scotland and knew that our hearts were being drawn to the Isle of Lewis off the Northwest coast of Scotland. After traveling through the Highlands, we crossed a bridge to the magical Isle of Skye. From there we crossed by ferry to the Isle of Harris, famous for its tweed, and drove through the mountains until the same island adopts the name of Lewis.
Pam reaching out to an affectionate Highland Cow
Why would we be drawn to such a remote area where sheep seem to outnumber people and where it’s so chilly even the Highland Cows are sporting long hair to keep them warm? It’s because for years we have read stories about a great revival of true Christian faith that woke up many sleeping churches and resulted in the salvation of many unbelievers on the Island.
Toward the end of the 1940’s, the leaders of the churches of the Isle of Lewis wrote an alarming letter published in the main newspaper of the island. It expressed their concern that in the churches there was a great lack of spiritual power, especially in the effectiveness of the preaching of the Gospel. They were especially concerned about the lack of interest in the Christian faith among the youth. In their letter they appealed to all those who still might care, that they would pray and seek the Lord for a revival to come to the Hebrides Islands. What would this revival be? According to the famous preacher during the time, Duncan Campbell, it is when God moves so powerfully upon the hearts of His people that it results in the transformation of the entire community, island or nation.
Once in Lewis, Pam and I spent the night in the beautiful town of Stornaway. The next morning we winded our way by narrow roads to the town of Barvas. It is there that the revival broke out with much power. We turned left at a remote crossroads where once had stood the home of two elderly women, one blind and one lame. These two sisters, Mary and Peggy Smith, became too incapacitated to attend church services, but they still carried a fire for God and for His church. Though not able to attend church, God still met them in their little cottage. It was there that they prayed for a revival of faith, especially among the youth. These two represent others who were part of a faithful remnant of people and pastors who could be found in churches and houses, gathering in small groups, praying and seeking the Lord for revival.
Once in Barvas, our guide drove us to the small home of an elderly man who remembered the Hebrides revival as a child. His name was Donald. He remembers it because His father gave his heart to Jesus during this time of spiritual fervency. Donald said that for the rest of his father’s life, he could be seen with his hands in the air worshipping Jesus.
Meeting with Donal in his kitchen
Here Pam and I sat at Donald’s small kitchen table, the only room he kept heated in the house during the cold winter months. Donald had lost his wife over 40 years ago. She was a godly woman who loved Jesus. Donald told us that when standing by his wife’s deathbed he heard the voice of the Lord. With life having already left his wife’s body, the Lord spoke to him and said, “What I did for her, I will do for you.” Donald responded with joy and a renewed faith, revisiting the revival that had transformed his father. He remembered the revival of his childhood and once and for all embraced Jesus as his Savior. For all these 40 plus years, he has continued to pray and ask the Lord to send another revival like the one he had seen as a child.
Exterior of the little meeting house where the revival first began
With eyes full of tears, he spoke to Pam and I, telling us that he and a small group of elderly men still pray every Saturday night for God to pour out His Spirit once again. After Donald, Pam and I hugged each other and prayed, he pointed us to the little meeting house just down the road where the revival first broke out. The numbers in the little meeting house increased until they had to move the meetings to the main church in Barvas.
What struck us most as Pam and I visited these sites? We realized that visiting these locations removed some of the romanticization of the setting of this great revival. We were able to see that on a very remote island, among very simple people, in tiny meeting houses and small churches, with traveling preachers being willing to leave large conferences in order to speak to small
Interior of the small meeting house
gatherings, there came a great wind from heaven that brought stories of revival and transformation that impact our hearts yet today. God answered the cry of their hearts taken from Isaiah 64, “Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Thy presence–As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil–To make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Thy presence!” There’s so much more to this story. I hope you’ll take the time to explore it further. The preacher most used by God in this revival was Duncan Campbell. If this blog has piqued your interest, be sure to visit Duncan Campbell’s telling of the events in the Hebrides.
Remote locations, small churches, regular people…sound familiar? Let’s remember the greatness of the power of the revivals of the past, but let’s not romanticize the locations until they become something with which we can’t identify. God is no respecter of persons. What He’s done before, He can do again. He did it for others, why would He not do it for us? Habakkuk said, “I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by (Habakkuk 3:2 NLT).