"God will hear. He will listen and He will forgive our sin…””

Hello, and welcome back to the One Thing Podcast. Today I’m sharing a scripture from 2 Chronicles 7:14, and it says,  “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.”  This verse is always a verse that, when you read it, really helps us to be centered. He’s calling us His people. If we are His people and we humble ourselves, and we pray, we look to Him, we turn to seek His face, and we turn from our wicked ways, God will hear. He will listen and He will forgive our sin, which is incredible; but also, He says, “I will heal their land.”

"We are actually His land where He looks to dwell…”

Now, one of the biggest parts that are really sticking out today is how he says that He will heal their land. When we think of land, this has two parts to it. We can think physically of a land or a location, such as America or a location in our town—wherever it may be, the land. Also, we can think of the land spiritually, which is the land of our hearts. God says that we are His people. We are actually His land where He looks to dwell by His Spirit.

So, how does this apply to us? Why is this important? Well, when we think of the physical land, we can look at the land that we live in, even just our nation. America: a nation blessed by God, a prosperous nation, a nation that was founded in the laws of God and blessed.

Now, we look around. How far have we come? You know, the laws of God have been taken out of the school systems; truth of God is irrelevant and people look to push God away rather than to seek His face. This land, when we think about it, has become a land of rebellion—a land against the very God who had blessed it.

"...for Him to heal the land—to begin in our hearts...”

Next, we can look at the spiritual aspect of our own lives. How many ways has the land of our own hearts been defiled, where we have looked to also to push away God in our lives—to turn away and walk in sin or rebellion, or whatever it may be, attempting to live apart from God in the way that we please?  You know, God has called us to worship Him. He has created mankind to serve Him and to walk with Him all the days of our lives. Yet, today, whether it has been sin, whether it has been darkness, the land has been defiled. Maybe our hearts have been defiled. Maybe we can look at our nation and our hearts can begin to think of how we as a nation have even turned against the Lord. But, he says today, “If my people, who are called by my name...” If we humble ourselves, if we pray and seek His face, and we turn, God will hear and He will forgive our sin, which opens a way for Him to heal the land—to begin in our hearts, heal our hearts.

"...away from the darkness, now turning to His light.”

When I think of healing, when we hear the word “healing,” we are hearing about wholeness, being brought to restoration. You know, wholeness and restoration is being in the place that God has called us to be, in His glory and in His presence, away from the darkness, now turning to His light.

Will we cry out to God so that He will heal the land of our hearts? Furthermore, when we think of our nation, the places that we live, the people around us, will we also cry out that God would have mercy on our nation—a nation that was meant to serve the living God, a nation that would look at its prosperity, realize that it’s only come from the hand of The Lord, not by man? But God, who rules over all, through Jesus Christ has given us a place where we can find education, we can have jobs, we can be blessed in ways—the list just goes on and on—in ways that are unimaginable in other nations and other distant lands.

So, may we take to heart this scripture, to be praying and seeking the face of God. If there are places in the land of our heart that need to be cleansed, that need to find forgiveness, may we turn to Him and may He bring healing so that we can bring others into that land with God, into that place.

May we look at our nation with compassion, with the conviction of God, and may we humble ourselves that maybe God would do something tremendous in our nation even now, through His church and through His people.

"...turn to Him today and be blessed.”

Praise God for the call today to come to Him! Praise God for the mercy that He makes through Jesus, who is the mercy of God, Himself, the Lord Jesus who shed His blood that we would be reconciled back to the Father! May we turn to Him today and be blessed.