By James Wilson
America needs intervention – today.
Twenty-first century Americans – Christian or no – are addicted to complaining, escapist entertainment, an exaggerated sense of entitlement, and scapegoating. That is why we have epidemic shedding of innocent blood called abortion, the sexual sin embodied in pornography and human trafficking, the idolatry of believing experts manipulating the economy improves it, and the broken covenants that look like so many broken families. Truth is we cannot and will not intervene on ourselves. However, God-in-the-Person-of-Jesus is ready, willing and able to intervene on us. He even reveals His plan for intervention and treatment in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. “When I shut up the heavens so there is no rain…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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
California is gripped in the fourth year of our worst drought ever. The natural causes are a persistent high pressure ridge and a meteorological troughing phenomenon that tag-team to deflect storms from us. Oregon and Washington know similar if somewhat milder straits. These causes are natural, but they naturally linger a few weeks. Four years is unnatural.
That leaves limited explanatory options. My money is on God – because His Word telegraphs His plans when His people go off the rails – and because I know Him to love even in disaster. If He has provided this drought it is because – as any faithful interventionist would – He loves His people enough to confront them with his love, His promised support for seeking sobriety, and the inevitable consequences of addiction. But the amazing thing is all we have to do is humble ourselves in recognition we are not all that, pray and seek Him instead of our own glory, and turn from our wicked ways.
The Hebrew word for wicked in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is ra. It denotes inadequacies rather than immorality. In context we are told to stop worshipping our inadequacies and to return to worshipping the only living God. Yet worshipping our inadequacies is exactly what we do when we say, “I must have this abortion; I am not prepared to raise a child,” forgetting that the number of medical hurdles threatening any successful birth is enough to conclude there is no such thing as a birth God did not desire. Statements like, “This is different; we have got to be practical,” ignore the reality that there is no more pragmatic Being in the universe than the One who spoke it – and its structures – into existence. Inadequacy is human; worshipping the best we can do instead of God in Christ is as stupid as it is morally bankrupt. But if scripture is true – and it is – we have a golden opportunity to re-set mindset and behavior.
This opportunity is a challenge for believers in the Lord Jesus only; we are the ones called to account because we are the ones entrusted with California’s destiny and we are responsible for her failures – at least according to those same scriptures. Believers in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and British Columbia are joining with Californians to build a wall of fasting, prayer and re-focus (repentance) on God over the trifecta day of September 9-11. (BTW a fast is letting go of anything we think we need – worshipped inadequacies anyone? – and God is pretty sure we don’t. My addictions of choice are diet soda and profanity – whether spoken or thought – and I am glad to fast them.) The fast began July 20 and it is not too late to come aboard; there is that scriptural example of the workers in the vineyard who are rewarded equally for their labor if they worked an hour or a day.
For that matter, is there any state in the union where all is so well that a little fasting and praying would be a waste of energy? I thought not. Reality is we need a touch from God; we need the assurance of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives unless we really are making it on our own. The good news is it does not matter how often we have tried to make it on our own; He awaits our return to awareness of how He perfects His strength only in our weakness. Go to www.dayofrepentance1.org for information. Take home with you the truth that He still knows the plans He has for us – plans to give us hope, prosperity, and the assurance that when we seek His face (Jeremiah 29:11-14) we cannot fail to find Him.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net
