Have We Turned Away?

There is a very familiar and often-quoted scripture in 2 Chronicles 7 I would like further to explore in this writing. Its relevance for today is overwhelming, and the message could not, I believe, be more timely. The people of God (the Israelites) had turned from obedience; they had purposed to do things their own way and rebel against God's authority and direction. Solomon, the king at the time, was visited by the Lord to warn him of the coming calamity because of the rebellion of the people. God promised to reward this wickedness with drought, pestilence, and famine, and that locusts would devour the crops. The Lord, in this very famous passage, did what He does so often and so patiently to rebellious people—He gave them an out, a cure for what was about to ail them. In verse 14, immediately following His judgment, He offers these words: "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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Before we go on, let me just say, yes, I know the argument that this passage was for a particular people at a given time; however, may I refer you to the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and is it not the very same message? You see, God is making a promise to Solomon, the same promise He has made to all men. He is saying that when we, as men and women of God, children of the King, turn away and purpose to deny His truths and His Lordship, He will not abandon nor forsake us; He will give us a reprieve. The Lord is not assuming that the people will turn away; He knows our human nature, and He knows we will turn away, especially when times are good and we have no need of Him and His protection or provision. However, when times are rough, and we have need of Him, He will be there, conditionally yes, but He will be there, and He will hear our prayers, and He will restore us! Reading this passage and taking the actions God lays out for us will always result in a response from heaven. Why? Because the God of all creation loves His people more than anyone or any entity ever could, and the depth of that love is far beyond anything we could imagine. The steps to this reconciliation are quite clear. First, we must humble ourselves. The proper Hebrew word for humble here is kana, which means to bend the knee, bring down, bring low, bring into subjection, bring under, humble self, to subdue. The first action we must take for restoration and blessing is to surrender ourselves in all humility to the lordship of God now through Jesus Christ. We must admit to ourselves, others, and to our God that we need Him, that He is God and we are not, that we need and desire His lordship, and that we are completely surrendered to His will and will deny our own! Next, we are told to pray, or again in the Hebrew language, palal, or to intercede, make prayer, to make supplication. Prayer is the connection of man's mind and heart to the very being of God. We are to first acknowledge His power and authority and then recognize it through prayer, seeking that which we cannot attain upon our own. God wants to hear the desires of our heart. He desires to provide for us and bless us, again further confirmation of His great love for His people. Lastly, we are told to "turn from our wicked ways" or to repent. This word "wicked" is derived from the Hebrew word ra', which means evil, adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, displease, distress, hurtful, mischief, vexed, sorrowful, and much more, but you get the point. Therefore, in order to fully achieve forgiveness and the blessings of God, we, as God's people, are called to humble ourselves by submitting to His lordship, cry out to Him for salvation from calamity and repent, or turn away from evil. Is it I, or does this sound rather simplistic? The crazy thing is God has since given us even more blessing by now sending Jesus as payment for our sins and wickedness so that when we now repent, we are immediately under the receiving end of God's blessings; we need not make any further sacrifice! Why do I write this? Simply because God has called me to this very morning, because obviously He has someone or some people who need to hear this message, this message of the gospel, this message for the restoration and blessing for men and nations. This is the prescription for the healing of peoples and lands, and today we need healing. May we now repent and turn away, and, once again, be blessed by the God of all creation. Pastor Gene Burroughs, Missio Dei Ministries, Navarre, FL