2 Chronicles 7:14

In large crowds of sporting spectators one may often see someone displaying a sign that says, ‘John 3:16.’  It is a good scripture that tells a powerful truth, but like most scriptures or ‘instruction books’ of any kind a single sentence does not tell the whole story.  Yes, God loves His children but He shows that love by blessing them when they do right.  Notwithstanding the many who think that love is unconditional, with no expectations on the recipients, they clearly do not know the character of God or have not read their scriptures (all of them) carefully.

 

The same God who gave us His gospel and his Law and His Son gave us the scripture found in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

            “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.” 

I think you’ll find a few conditions there and you will also find a promised outcome that we could surely use, right now, in our troubled land. 

To me it is interesting that the mother of the 34^th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower had her son open the Bible to this scripture when he placed his hand upon it to take his presidential oath of office. 
 

Although Dwight Eisenhower was not religious in his adult life, he internalized most of the principles learned from his cheerful and devout Christian mother and conversely more dour and less, for him, influential father.  But both parents inculcated in Dwight an understanding for the need of self-discipline and the habit of steadiness of character over time.  “I simply gave myself an order,” he once said, to always “reflect the cheerful certainty of victory.” To that end Eisenhower  knew that duty, obedience, and humility were key virtues and linked not only to temporal success but also to eternal values. He was, in David Brook’s words, “fueled by passion and policed by self-control.

   

In consideration of 2 Chronicles 7:14,  I think that few Americans, and very few of our younger Generation know of or believe in this verse of scripture or of many others like it that can be found in Holy writ.  Neither do they know that the foundation of this nation and the character of many its finest leaders were based on a covenant with God that blessings of national prosperity would be conditioned upon our faithfulness. 

 

A retrenchment and rapprochement may still be possible, but most of the sand has drained from the top-half of our national hour-glass.  Pray that God will turn the glass on its side as we try to regain His favor.