Read 2 Chronicles 7:12-22
“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
When disease strikes, an organism exercises every means at its disposal to repel the attack. But sometimes the organism addresses the symptoms while ignoring the root cause. Left unchecked, the underlying disease eats away at the organism until eventually it dies. The organism dies because it focused on the symptoms instead of seeking the right prescription and treatment for the disease.
Solomon addressed the disease of sin in Israel with his impassioned prayer (2 Chronicles 6:12-42) as he dedicated the newly built temple in Jerusalem 3000 years ago. Solomon acknowledged Israel’s tendency to be wayward, and it’s vulnerability to natural calamity and external enemies as a result of Israel’s sin. Solomon prayed for God’s compassion, forgiveness and protection against those challenges. God’s response, including today’s text, laid out the prescription for Israel to follow for full recovery and healing.
Even today, we face many of the circumstances Solomon addressed in his prayer: Internal strife within our society, natural disasters rip apart lives and communities, and external forces lurk about seeking to attack. While we should employ our God-given intellect and gifts to meet today’s challenges, our manmade diagnosis and treatment can never be the final solution to our circumstances. The systemic diagnosis of our problems centers around the confession Solomon acknowledged in his prayer—bad things happen when our societies forsake God.
The prescription for healing our personal and even national turmoil remains the same as God told Solomon: We who profess a relationship with God must discard our ungodly ways, and humbly and prayerfully seek Him as the only one who can bring about healing to a land. God remains the first and foremost solution to every life predicament. Attempting to solve life’s challenges without putting God first in the solution process treats the symptom, and not the disease.
Question to Ponder: What is the real disease that attacks our society today? Have we made God central to finding the solution?
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” —James 5:16
