2 Chronicles 7:14–If My People Turn...

2 Chronicles 7:14–"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."

This verse, and the several like it, are at the same time liberating and difficult.  It is liberating in the sense that it gives us direct life applications for holiness.  That being said, it is difficult in that it tells us precisely what God requires of us: whole-hearted repentance.

Humility.  Prayer.  Seeking His face.  Repentance from sin.

Then...

God hears us.  He forgives us.  And He heals that which is barren.

I could write more (and trust me on this one) but I think this just about covers the important parts that need to be considered.

The Flaw of Using Physical Remedies for Spiritual Ailments

There are quite a few people around me who exhibit the wounds of spiritual injuries.  These wounds are easy to spot once you know what to look for: like lack of self-worth, overwhelming guilt or grief, or even the depression of lovelessness, and a whole slew of other ailments.  While this is, of course, not an oddity in itself, it is the manner in which these people deal with spiritual injury that warrants discussion.

These people, and many like them, seek physical remedies for their spiritual maladies.  We know people who do this: they drink to dull their pain, eat to cover guilt, or commiserate with other lonely people just so they don't have to feel so alone.  All in all, these are flawed remedies because they fail to address the heart of the issues, which are, in their most fundamental sense, spiritual in nature.

In the end, nearly every issue can be traced to spiritual disease, that is, to sin.  And only God has the definitive cure for sin.  Only by coming to Christ in faith will be be given correct vision to see properly that which is truly a physical illness and that which stems from spiritual disorder.  As for the latter, God is the only solution.  And we must seek after Him in faith and love for our healing and for our restoration. Let us remember that when we begin to use physical remedies to attempt to heal spiritual ailments. The results of such a misinformed endeavor will be only more spiritual ailment.

Car Trouble as an Analogy

Earlier this week, my car was not working properly.  More specifically, my heat was not working.  Now in the summer this would be entirely unimportant but seeing as I live in Minnesota and it is still winter, this is no small intrusion.  Fortunately, I have dealt wth this before and I had an inkling at what the issue may be.  I popped my hood at the gas station, remove the coolant-reservior cap and behold, I was out of coolant. After filling the reservior, letting the engine run for a while, and then checking to make sure that it was holding fluid, I was back on my way, heated and pleased.

Luckily, this was a minor ordeal and easily fixable.  But while I was driving later that day an analogy of humanity came to my mind.  I believe it was Clive Staples Lewis who uttered the analogy of man as a finely-tuned mechanical engine.  And man, being this engine, required a fuel source and that the only fuel source for man, the intended fuel source of man, is God Himself.  Remember: in Him we live, and move, adn have our being and that we live on every Word that flows from His mouth.

But this can be carried further.  There have been many times, daily it seems, that I know that my engine is not working properly.  We can all assess when something is not right; when the mood is depressing, the body feel achy, the relationships are strained, or the mind is just not as sharp as it should be.  Normally I would simply chalk this up to an 'off day.'  But I am beginning to be come to an agreement with Lewis that if I am out of sorts that it is first-and-foremost a theological issue.

And, like my car issue, I know how to deal with theological issues: repent, ask for forgiveness, come to Christ in faith, pray, worship, fellowship, and study His Word.  This is the prescription, but like all medicine it can be tough to swallow.  But if you (speaking to myself here too!) find that you are not running correctly, if your life seems out of sorts, I assure you that seeking after God is the path to healing, whatever the ailments may be!

No Substitute for Praise

Worship is an insurmountable salve for all the ills of the human condition.  There is a unique healing that happens when a human bows before the Lord.  It is a sweet comfort for the worshiper  to praise God with an earnest and humble heart.

It is a simple thing, really.  Yet despite the reality of it all, many people either neglect praising God or willfully reject worshiping Him at all.  But those that do not praise Him are worse for their wear while the worshiper is strengthened to weather any tumult or storm.

There is no substitute for genuine praise.  The sincerest praise heals hearts and mends the broken, giving them strength in weariness and hope in desolation.  It is a matter of honesty and reverence, recognizing who God is and how much we need His mighty hand for every breath for in Him we live, and move, and have our being.  Let us then offer Him praise for who He is and all He has done and continues to do!