If My people will seek My face…I will heal their land.
“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 will forgive their sin and heal their land.” -2 Chronicles 7:14- NKJV
This has been a familiar scripture to many Christians for quite some time now. It is as though God IS speaking right into our ears today. He is telling us that He is watching every single thing that we are doing… He knows exactly what is going on including all the deaths and suffering among His people: And that He is prepared to take care of those that belong to Him. But… when you look at the entire passage there are some conditions mentioned. This panacea is only addressed to certain people. It does not imply that God discriminates but instead that God is selective of those He calls His people. This calls for some unpacking of a few phrases used in this passage of scripture as written in the New King James Version of the Bible.
If My people: Although you might think that all people are God’s people because God created all things in heaven and on the earth so wouldn’t all people be God’s people? Yes, it is true that God created all people on earth and in that sense, God is responsible for all human beings. He blew the breath of life into mankind and gave us dominion over the earth. He told us to be fruitful and multiply! All that we required to sustain life and purpose here on the earth was also placed here for us to enjoy.
“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16 –NIV-
Without a doubt, all things were created through Him and for Him. But the fact that all things were created through and for Him does not mean that all people wish to honor God in any way, shape, or form. Some chose to deny the very existence of God. They refuse to acknowledge His divinity, His omnipotence, His omnipresence, or His almighty and everlasting power over all things that He alone made. They do not wish to follow any rules or instructions that He asks of them. But God being God… allows them to separate themselves from His flock. If they do not wish to be part of God’s flock… God’s own family… God’s own children, then they are free to set themselves apart from Him and thereby they are no longer God’s people. This is not by decree of God but by the free will choice of people. So when God makes this statement it is not to all people just because all of them were created through and for Him. Therefore not all people here on earth are “My (God’s) people.”
“Who are called by My name:” This also applies to those who are classified as God’s people but it goes even further making a distinction as to who can be called by His name. This would reference our modern times perhaps even more than earlier because when this scripture was written it was during the times before Christ was born on earth. In this day Christ has already come and returned back to heaven to be with His Father so as far as who this scripture would be speaking to today in reference to being called by My Name, here is the further classification.
“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1: 11–13 — NIV –
Mind you my premise is that God is speaking loudly and boldly to His children today as though He is speaking directly into our ears. The ones that are called by His name would be the ones who receive Him and believe in His name, He gives them the right to become children of God. I also referenced Christians at the beginning of my essay so this message might not be of interest to others who might even be offended by some of the things I am saying here. They definitely would not be the ones God was speaking to when this statement was made. So it is in the name of the Son that we are given further instructions and rights of son-ship and daughter-ship. “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13–14 –
In the name of Christ Jesus: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” — Philippians 2: 9–11 — NIV-
Again it was God the Father that says this to us because He provided us the remedy to what is currently going on in our lives today. God says; “In the name of His only begotten son the entire world will have to answer to His Son, in His Name, Christ Jesus.” But if anyone wishes not to honor God’s Son, this passage is not referencing them because they do not want to do what God asks of them. They do not wish to honor God’s conditions.
God’s Conditions: I counted four mentioned during this passage: 1. “Humble themselves;” 2. “And pray:” 3. “And seek My face;” 4. “And turn from their wicked ways:” That might sound like a lot but I assure it is very little considering what is at stake. If the children of God are only willing to do as God asks of them then he offers in return A LOT, which is to heal their land. I will cover at the end of the essay.
What does it mean to humble themselves? It means to reduce pride and arrogance and be modest in your approach to God. To come before Him in respect reverently knowing that He alone is God so you cannot come before God with this proud and arrogant attitude. God will have no part of that from His children so if that attitude is in you do not even bother coming unto God.
Pray should be obvious but not all people know how to pray successfully. Christ taught us the proper way to pray in the Lord’s prayer but even if that prayer does not come from the heart it might not penetrate through the realm of the heavenly abode where God resides. Because of this, we should just align ourselves with the divine will of God and if you do not have special words to pray just ask the Holy Spirit to pray for you to the Father and it will be done as you ask. To seek God’s face is to be willing to come boldly before His Throne and pour yourself at His altar seeking His grace and mercy. Come reverently before Him, seeking His full attention (face) and then once you openly seek Him and it comes from your heart He will know it. If it only comes from your lips or your mind it does not seek God’s full attention or His face. It is like saying a nursery rhyme. They are cute but they do not cut deep down into the heart of the matter so one must be willing to seek the face of God if they want something from God.
So I discussed the easy conditions first but the last one could be a bit of a challenge for most of us… turn from your wicked ways. It really does not require us to become saints but we should have a desire to turn away from things that know to be sinful and evil. Even though we will stumble in our attempt to do so… if our desire is to live a more righteous life and stop doing all those horrible things we know to be just dead wrong then God will help us with our occasional stumbles. The problem is with those things we continue to do knowing that we should not be doing them with no desire to change what we keep on doing. Romans 7:15–20… I’ll let you look that one up. So turning from your wicked ways would take a bit of work but you are not expected to do this alone, God has provided you with a Helpmate to assist you in doing so.
So after you have completed all the conditions then God will hear from Heaven, where He lives currently in Spirit and in Truth, a dominion in the Heavenly Abode of God. This is the place where God currently sits on His throne. I really do not want to call it a place but that is how our minds are fixed to receive things in order to imagine what a location means. Heaven is not something that I can or have enough time to describe here. Sufficient to say, no eyes have seen, or ear heard, or mind conceived what Heaven is like.
Finally, God will forgive our sins… all those wicked and sinful things we have done in the past, and apparently continue to do but with the aid and grace from God we can be made unto righteousness even though we are not completely righteous through and through. Once forgiven we become righteousness in the eyes of God… then and only then will He heal our land? To me, that reference to land is regarding the only thing that we have that belongs to us, which is our immortal souls and spirit. However, in this modern-day context, it is the land that we are living on here on earth. We are going through a lot of stuff down here on earth and God alone can fix what we are going through… not the orange man in the white house. The house of God would not be associated with such wickedness. Please forgive me Father for that last statement.
I could continue on but this is a long one and people do not take the time to read as much as they need to. So if you have the right to be called a child of God then you know God is speaking directly to you. He has set His conditions and He will make good on His promises. Obviously, if you are not one of God’s people then this entire essay might sound like rubbish or gibberish to you. Let those who have ears to hear, hear a message from their Father in this most powerful scripture. 2 Chronicles 7:14 — Selah!
