One more day pondering these words:

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will 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.

Yesterday’s thoughts closed with these words: You  and I are people who already have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. In His love and mercy He has reached out to us with the offer of forgiveness for Jesus sake. Through His life and death and resurrection He has done all that is necessary for us to be saved, to be God’s people called by His name.

Because we have faith in Jesus, because God has chosen us to be His people, these words from 2 Chronicles apply to us. Let’s go through the outline again, making it more personal:

IF my people – you and I who are His children through faith in Jesus.

  • Humble – When things are going well, we forget about God and assume that is just the way things should be if you work hard, rather than recognizing our good fortunes as blessings from God. We need to humbly acknowledge that God’s providence has blessed us tremendously, giving us homes and family, work and leisure, freedom and liberty. Be humble before God.
  • Pray – This is an admonition bears repeating. If you want God to answer you, you have to speak to Him. Let Him know that you know He is there and in control by talking to Him.
  • Seek – We need to seek His face always. We want to be on His good side, which is what this phrase implies. We don’t want God to turn His back on us, but desire to be where His face shines on us. We want to live always in His presence.
  • Turn – We do that by admitting our sins and turning from them. That does not mean a thoughtless recitation of “I, a poor miserable sinner…” but a heartfelt admission that it was my sin, my guilt, that caused Jesus to die. That kind of admission will bring about a turning.

If you and I will humble and pray and seek and turn THEN God will:

  • Hear – we know that God hears, since He promised that He would for Jesus’ sake.
  • Forgive – That is what Jesus had come for. That is what He did. He gave Himself up for us, died and rose again so that we might be forgiven. Faith in Him makes that forgiveness your possession. God forgives you for Jesus’ sake.
  • Heal – Easing of the suffering and problems all around us. Let’s face it, our lives and our nation need healing. People are not civil to one another in the public square. This nation of ours is one of the finest on earth, but it is still in need of a lot of healing. As those who are part of the family of faith, part of that nation whose God is the Lord, we have a responsibility to live up to. If you want the United States of America to be a nation under God, you must be a people under God. Take your stands for God, make your voices heard, Lift High the Cross. Share the Good News so that more people will be God’s people. And show God’s love in your words and your actions. If you and I are living the way God tells us to in this passage, that will go a long way toward healing this land.

We must take God at His Word.

If my people, who are called by my name, will 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.

We have been promised that when we humble ourselves, pray, seek, and turn from our wickedness, GOD will hear, forgive, heal –for Jesus Sake!