Recipe for Healing

"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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

We are in a bad way.  Times are hard:  Reports of riots, shootings, uprisings, kidnappings and mass murders fill the news.  Friends and neighbors experiences foreclosures, bankruptcy and other financial hardships.  Divorce and turmoil rock many families.  Where is God and why doesn't He do something?

It's easy to blame God when the responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of His people.  If I want my nation to receive a blessing from God, He has given a recipe to follow for those who are called by the name of Christ.

Humble.  Even though He deserved all praise and honor, He willingly set His position and authority aside in order to bow to His Father's wishes.  No one twisted His arm, coerced Him into action or bribed Him to do the unthinkable.  Jesus chose to set aside His divinity and take on the form of man so that He could die a terrible death on the cross; all to rescue me from the wrath of God.

Jesus humbled Himself, taking a position that was lower than what He deserved, giving up His rights as Creator and Sovereign God (Philippians 2:6-8).  This act is the very definition of humility.  As a human, I find it hard to humble myself even a fraction of what Jesus did for me.  In fact, I tend to exalt myself, trying to take credit for my success or position in life when it's really due to the gifting and placement of the Creator.  Or I stand up for my rights, putting my liberties and perceived privileges as more important even than God getting the glory.  Or I fail to do what I know is right when it takes me where I don't feel comfortable going.  

Until I can admit that I don't have all the answers, that I may be wrong in the way I am living my life, that I am a part of the problem not the solution, then I will fail to see my desperate need for Jesus and my utter reliance upon Him.  Until I know how wretched I am, and every Christian similarly admits to their own bankruptcy, we will not be able to receive blessing for our land.

When I, as a part of the Body of Christ, admit to my total dependence on the mercy of God and let go of my desire to live life my own way, God will unleash His blessings and bring healing to this land.

Pray and Seek.  She never gave up.  Even though the judge was uncaring, even failing to respect God's sovereign nature, she still appealed to him time and after time, pleading for justice against those who sought to destroy her.  Finally, because he wanted to get her off of his back, this ungodly judge gave in, protecting and avenging her by his judgement (Luke 18:1-8).

How much more will God in His perfect sense of justice and mercy protect His own people?  Yet how easily I give up when I don't see immediate relief from the suffering I see all around me.  Instead of stopping my prayers, it is God's intention for me to persist, pleading with Him for justice when I see the innocent mistreated, or when darkness is portrayed as light, or when wrong is exchanged for what is right.

I am to earnestly pray, seeking God and His will as my only hope.  Never must I grow faint in my petitions, but continue to approach the throne of grace time and time again.  He hears my prayers even if I can't see any evidence of such.  He is listening to my every cry.  He pays attention to my godly appeals (1 John 5:14).

I can't simply pray for what I think should happen, however.  I must always couple my petitions with the earnest quest for His will.  As I cooperate with His transforming Spirit working inside of me, resisting the urge to think just like the world does, I will better discern God's will for me, in turn gaining knowledge of how to pray (Romans 12:2).

When I, as a part of the Body of Christ, pray persistently for the will of God, God will unleash His blessing and bring healing to this land.

Repent.  Everyone was watching it.  Even though my spirit felt ill-at-ease, I began making the popular show a part of my weekly routine.  Soon I began letting down my guard and easing up on my standards.  Before I knew it, I was adopting as my own some of the worldly beliefs and ways of thinking found in this television family.

There is much that I tolerate in my life that is offensive to God.  Instead of paying attention to His indwelling conviction, however, I often continue in the ways that please my sin nature.  God has a better way and I will never taste His goodness unless I turn away from that which harms me.

Living in a world where sin is socially acceptable, its easy to minimize the impact of such transgressions.  I begin to agree with the voices around me that abortion is sometimes necessary, or that everyone has the right to marry who they love no matter their gender, or that revenge is sometimes necessary.

When I, as a part of the Body of Christ, repent from the sin that so easily entangles, God will unleash His blessing and bring healing to this land.

I am partly responsible for the wretched condition of the times in which I live.  It's easy to blame God for not protecting us, or thinking others carry the responsibility.  The truth is, as a follower of Christ who is called by His name, I bear the burden of reaping what I sow.  After all, those who are lost don't know any better.  

Therefore, if I humble myself, placing myself under His sovereign authority, earnestly praying His will to be done, and repent from the sin I so easily tolerate, I will unleash the blessing from God that will bring restoration to this land.  The recipe for healing has been given to me, if only I will follow it.


As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can seek God as the sole source of blessing and healing.

How do I pass the buck, choosing to believe the responsibility for the state of the world lies elsewhere?

When do I believe I have the answers that will fix today's problems, failing to humble myself before the Lord?