Heart Tracks - Favor?

"Then if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

This past week, in the wake of the horrendous killing of 5 policemen in Dallas and wounding of 7 others, I saw the above scripture posted on Facebook pages everywhere. Killing is almost an industry in our culture, from the unborn, to our inner cities, into the very places where we live, work, and recreate. That we are a sick, sin ridden society is undeniable, and 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a call from the Father's heart that grows more urgent by the minute. Yet, as I saw all those posts, the question that arose in my heart, that applies to all of us who call ourselves His is this; do we really include ourselves among those He cries out to? Do we really see ourselves as being those who must humble themselves, confess sin in our lives and turn away from it? Do we really see ourselves as being those who need His forgiveness, His healing, His renewal? Or, do we see this as a need for everyone but us? That it's those around us who are the problem, not we ourselves. Are we calling for the healing of our land while believing we are not in need of healing? Are we calling for brokenness while we remain unbroken?

This week I came across a devotional that was centered on daily writings that would release God's "unlimited favor" into our lives. I don't think there could be a more telling trait of the western Church. We are a people obsessed with being blessed, with having favor. As one man put it, we who live in the midst of the most blessed nation the world has ever known, have as our foremost desire being even more blessed. More favor, more blessing, these are the desires that motivate us. This heart attitude is the exact opposite of what He calls us to in 2 Chronicles. I think it is also the opposite of what it really means to have the favor of God upon our lives.

Moses had the favor of God and he spent 40 years on the backside of the desert. Joseph had the favor of God and he went from being sold unfairly into slavery to spending more than a decade in prison. David had the favor of God and spent years running from a king who sought to kill him. Paul had the favor of God and ended his life the victim of the executioner's sword. Jesus, above all, had the favor of God and was wounded, rejected, crucified, killed, by the very ones He came to save. To have God's true favor is to take upon ourselves such lives as these. We, in our self-centered lust for more comfort, success, blessing and pleasure, have no use or desire for such favor. Yes, we see the need for healing upon our land, even in the Church. We just don't really see the need for such in ourselves. How true is this of you and me?

God's voice is ringing out through 2 Chronicles 7:14. Do we hear it? Do we respond? Do we come in brokenness, confession, repentance? Or do we just keep on our usual way, looking for more blessings, more comfort, more security, more obsession with ourselves? Do we just go on quoting 2 Chronicles 7, never thinking it actually applies to us, or do we come to Him broken, humble, repentant, and so experience the healing only He can bring? We're all desperate. What are we desperate for?

Blessings,
Pastor O