“If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear them from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.” ~ 2 Chronicles 7:14
Why do you suppose God made this statement?
These were his conditions of forgiveness. If a nation sinned against God, there was a way to be forgiven and healed. Some may say this promise only applied to the nation of Israel and could not be applied to America today – I am not one of those people. I believe that as Christians – all of God’s promises of both blessing and justice – apply to us because of Christ.
So what do we do with this? How can this one verse in the bible hold the key to saving our nation?
Simple.
It is a call from God to return to him. It is the way out – the path to redemption and restoration. As a nation – a people – we have turned our back on him, and he is telling us how to come back. God is not only a god of justice – but of mercy! While justice and judgment are his nature – his nature is also love, grace and mercy. He always offers us a way back.
Our nation was founded on the principles of the Bible. Our founders, even those who are now portrayed as non-Christian, thanked the Almighty One and credited him with the blessings we received. But as time progressed we became a prideful nation, pushing God out of our way – out of schools, out of the public arena.
We must humble ourselves – humble ourselves as a people to recognize how far we have strayed and to repent. To return to the One who created and blessed us to begin with. This goes for Christians as much if not more than non-believers. Have we been the light he called us to be? If we had been, I for one don’t believe we would be in the situation we are. We have allowed the wickedness to bully us into being quiet too often.
How do we get a nation to humble itself? How do we get a population to humble themselves? We start with ourselves – us – you and me. Realizing that as Christians we have erred in our ways; confessing our sins and our shortcomings and asking for God’s forgiveness; recommitting ourselves to him.
Have you humbled yourself before God? I am reminded as I write this, that it is something I need to do on a daily basis. Not a day goes by in our human lives that we do not have something to lay down before Christ.
Other posts in the “If My People” Series:
Photo Credit: Kyle Steed via Flickr (CC-By-NC 2.0)