Thursday, July 4, 2024
Have We Forgotten?
The wicked will go down to the grave. This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God. (Psalm 9:17 NLT)
In the immediate aftermath of the unthinkable 9/11 attacks, we saw a dramatic return to faith on the part of many Americans. People were holding prayer meetings on street corners and gathering in neighborhoods to hold vigils. Members of Congress stood on the steps of the US Capitol building and spontaneously sang “God Bless America.”
On the Sunday following 9/11, Americans packed their local churches. People were trying to make sense of it, and they were turning to God for answers. There also was great concern that terrorists would attack again. So we prayed.
But things didn’t stay that way for very long. Interestingly, just ten years later during a 9/11 commemoration ceremony at Ground Zero, not a single person offered a prayer. Not a single pastor or minister of any kind gave thanks to God for His protection and mercy since then. Have we forgotten that God came through for us?
Yes, we want to thank God for our security and our experts who do their best to protect our nation. But we also have to acknowledge God’s mercy. At the same time, it raises a question: When will America wake up to its spiritual need?
The answer is not a political one. We’re in a political cycle now, and there’s a lot of talk about who will occupy the White House for the next four years. As Christians, we should register, vote, and find political candidates who represent a biblical worldview as much as possible. But at the same time, we must understand that no congressman or congresswoman, no senator, and no president can turn our country around. Not a single person can.
It is not a political answer that America needs. It is a spiritual one. And the only real answer is a spiritual awakening. A spiritual revival must sweep America.
God initially gave the following words to the nation of Israel, but they apply to our nation as well: “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT). We want God to heal our land.
All too often we’re more focused on who is in the White House than what’s going on in God’s house. When God looked at a nation that was having problems, He pointed His finger at His people and said, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face . . .”
So often as Christians, we’re quick to point out all the problems in our culture. But God is saying, “You know, I have been looking at you—you who are called by My name, you who are part of the body of Christ, you who are in the church. And the question is this: Are you experiencing spiritual revival?”
If we as God’s people want to turn a nation around, then we need to live as we should.
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