If My People

This morning Al and I read Psalm 80 in our morning devotions.  And then we read this commentary (which might actually make more sense to you if you take a minute to read Psalm 80):

"This Psalm is a picture of America to me.  God had brought Israel out of Egypt, driven out the nations, and planted them as a vine in the Promised Land.  He prospered them with blessings that were so abundant they overshadowed the mountains and extended to the sea!  But the hedges were broken down.  They no longer had the respect of other nations.  Their produce was pilfered by others, and their power decimated.  They did not have the joy and blessings that came from honoring God and humbly acknowledging that He was the source of their success.  Our forefathers came from other lands for the sake of religious freedom, and our nation was founded on principles that honored God......Yet we have become despised by the nations, our economy is in disarray, and the most basic moral values are being rejected."  (from In The Secret Place, a Pilgrimage Through the Psalms by Jerry Rankin, p. 173)

As I've continued to mull over this paragraph this morning, it seems to me that Dr. Rankin has stated the obvious, and stated it very well.  Our country is in a mess.  We have forgotten where we have come from and turned our backs on the very principles that once made us a great nation.

And so the question then becomes, is there any hope?  What will it take to turn things around?  Can anything make a difference? 

For the answer, we turn to the Scriptures.  To a familiar passage in the Old Testament. 

"If my people who are called by my name 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."  (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV)

Is there hope for America?  Yes.  If God's people humble themselves.  If God's people will pray.  If God's people will seek His face.  If God's people will turn from their wicked ways.  Then  God has promised to hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. 

Note that the verse does not say that if all heathen and wicked and pagan and evil people will humble themselves.  What it does say is that if God's people will humble themselves, pray, seek His face, turn from their wicked ways, then God will answer.

We have the instruction.  We know what to do.  And we have the promise of what will happen when we do. 

So, what is holding us back? 

"Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!"  (Psalm 80:3 ESV)