“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)
God says that if His people will do four things, He will do three things. It is a conditional promise. God does not say He will do it unconditionally, but He says, “If My people will meet My conditions, then I will do these things.”
Looking to the end of the verse first, the last thing that God will do for His people is to heal their land. It is clear that this is the land in which they live. God says that it is within the power of His people to do things which will cause God to heal the land in which they live.
Look at the land in which we live. Does it need healing? There is only one answer. Yes! The fact that the land needs healing indicates that God’s people have failed to do what God told them they should do. The responsibility is with us—not with the drug addict, not with the prostitute, not with the man who never darkens the door of a church. The responsibility is with the people upon whom Christ’s name is called!
If our land is not healed, there is only one reason. We have not done the things that God requires. I believe that this is precisely the truth. It is simply another way of saying what Jesus said in Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out, and trampled underfoot by men.” If our land is not healed by our presence, then our salt has lost its flavour.
What does salt do?
First of all, it gives flavour. As long as we are present in the earth, we give flavour to the earth in the sight of God. In other words, God accepts the world because of the Christians. God deals with the world in grace and mercy, rather than wrath and judgment, because of our presence.
I believe emphatically that it makes a difference where I go. I discovered this during World War II. Other soldiers were safer where I was. Unsaved soldiers knew this. When we were in tight corners in the North African desert, some of those blaspheming soldiers would turn to me and say, “Corporal Prince, I am glad you are with us.” What did Elisha say to Elijah? “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” (2 Kings 2:12). Where were they? Not around the kings but around the prophets.
Father, I understand that some of Your promises are conditional. Help me understand what conditions You have given before You can fulfil your promises. By Your grace, and the help of Your Holy Spirit, I want to fulfil these conditions so that You can work in my country for Your glory. In the name of Jesus, amen!
