Camp, Retreat and Conference Center

What’s it going to take?

We live in a day of turmoil in our nation.  For several years we’ve had one party attempting to impede the efforts of the other.  We have a growing divide between rich and poor, right and left, growth and stagnation.  An 80 plus year old minister told me that in all his years he has never seen the likes of what has happened with a Supreme Court nomination.

 

The internet has allowed people to share their ideas and causes instantly.  But what happens?  Do we become knowledgeable about all sides of an issue? No, we find voices like ours that reinforce what we believe and allow us to ignore any other points of view.  We have media that seems to be slanted either to the left or the right.  The news used to present the facts and allow us to draw our own conclusions.  Now most news is editorialized to support the views of the source.

 

Should we vote?  Yes, it’s our duty as citizens.  But will our vote put politicians on notice that we expect statesmanship and putting the needs of the whole nation first?  I doubt it.  I long for the day when politicians stand up and tell us what they believe, not sling mud at their opponents.  Hardly happens nowadays.

 

Will our nation become so fractured that nothing will unite us?  Or will a war come that takes life away and brings no resolution to our growing divide from other parts of the world?  Can we learn to be civil with those we disagree with?  Or are we domed to continue to be pulled downward by distrust and negativism?  What’s it going to take?

 

I believe that it’s going to take more than people alone can accomplish. So, what’s it going to take?

For those who are believers the answer is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV):

“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.”

It’s not easy to humble ourselves in this day when self-promotion is so popular.  It’s not easy to pray, partly because in doing so we acknowledge that we are not in charge, that we are dependent upon God.  It’s not easy to seek God’s face.  Doing so is a lifestyle of putting God and His will first.  Perhaps the most striking and difficult step is turning from our wicked ways.  Most of us see sin in others but fail to see it in ourselves.

Our nation was founded on Judeo- Christian principles, yet America has become a place where “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6 (ESV)).  This cannot continue if we are to prosper as a blessed and sensible people.  I can’t change what’s happening in our nation.  You can’t change what is happening in our nation.  The politicians won’t change what’s happening.  What’s it going to take?  God’s people humbling themselves, seeking God, and turning from their wicked ways, so our land can be healed.

Comments