God's Promise To Heal Our Land

GOD HAS A PLAN FOR US; a plan that can heal our land, and bring about the peace that we all claim to be one of our deepest desires.

"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 from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)KJV

Is the answer to all our problems really that simple? That is what the Bible says. If God's people," He's talking to us, folks, "humble themselves, and pray, and stop doing wicked things," they can count on His promise to not only hear their prayers, but to forgive their sin, and to heal their land.

Unfortunately, the solution sounds simple, but, in reality, it will take more than just a brief acknowledgement of sin. It will require a total commitment of Christians to bring about the healing the Lord promises in that verse.

First, we have to humble ourselves. Ouch. Most people, Americans especially, have been raised with the admonition not to let anyone push them around. Real humility is not a quick bowing of the head to pray, but an earnest delving into ourselves to find and weed out things that keep us from being humble. Things like pride, greed, and arrogance.

There is a big difference between pride and being proud of an accomplishment. Pride, according to Webster, is an inordinate self-esteem which often leads to conceit. Those who are filled with pride are unlikely to ever seek God's will in either their own lives, or in world conditions. Being proud of an accomplishment is not such a bad thing, unless we allow it to grow out of proportion until we become proud of ourselves rather than proud of the accomplishment, but self-centeredness and conceit is.

Secondly in God's formula for healing our land, we need to pray. It is so easy, in today's fast-paced society, to relegate prayers to whatever free time, if any, we have left at the end of a busy day. God expects us to make prayer a real priority; to make it a time of letting Him show us sin in our lives that should be eliminated.

That's right, He expects those of us who are serious about receiving healing for our land to turn from our wicked ways. No cutting down on them, or making excuses for them, or explaining them away. We are to TURN AWAY from them.

Most of us start out determined to do what God so plainly tells us to do, until He points out one of our pet sins. Like being addicted to soap operas, or over-eating, or letting anger get the best of us. He may point out different sins to one person than He does to another. What is sin to me might not be sinful for you, or vice versa. Just remember, if God shows either of us that some-thing is sin, that thing needs to go.

Now, after fulfilling God's conditions, and only now, are we in a position to claim the promise found in II Chronicles 7:14. IF we have truly humbled ourselves; IF we have prayed expectantly, and IF we have turned from our wicked ways, it is time for us to sit back and watch a miracle; the forgiveness of our sin and the healing of our land.