Heal Us Lord

Heal our Land Oh God. Heal our Wandering.
Published by Deborah Negron M.A.
April 19, 2020

Today this message is for us.
Today this is what the Word of God says to us….
A timely message…
A message of hope in the midst of our wandering.

The Lord cries out in his word to us. He tells us to turn back to him.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:1‭-‬10 ESV

Though we have not looked to him for help, he still longs to save. Though we have thought we could save ourselves and have found out we cannot, he wants to restore us.
He told the prophet Jeremiah this message for the children who had gone astray. His anger may be present and we may see calamity for a moment. But the Lord’s desire is to save, to restore and heal our land. His desire is to cause us to turn back to him.
The time has come for us to stop looking for water in broken wells. See here what he spoke to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 3
“If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? declares the Lord . Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed. Have you not just now called to me, ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth— will he be angry forever, will he be indignant to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken, but you have done all the evil that you could.” The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord .” And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, “‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord . I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord ; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the Lord . Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord ; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord , they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord .” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. “Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.” “Behold, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Jeremiah 3:1‭, ‬3‭-‬16‭, ‬22‭, ‬25

Though we have been faithless, he wants to heal out backsliding. Though we have been careless and casually treated his word, he longs to have fellowship with us.

His anger is not without reason. We have polluted ourselves. We have allowed greed and money, fame and fortune to be the idols we serve. We have given our lives over to success and possessions and forgotten that every good gift comes from the Lord. We have settled for sitting at the table of luxury and influence and forgotten about his mercy and his grace. We have treated lightly his love.
We have assumed that God’s love is for everyone regardless of their actions. We have said surely, he will overlook our actions because we know he is a good God.

THE END NEVER JUSTIFIES THE MEANS. We cannot say we serve God and not follow his commandments.
We cannot do good and fill our coffers with money we have had others suffer for.

God cannot be mocked. But he will forgive those who humble themselves. Those who truly want forgiveness. Thise who turn away from their own lusts and the greed of their hearts and surrender to the Lord and ask to be forgiven.

We have forfeited grace for a place in the status quo. We have substituted righteousness for kindness and tolerance.
God does not tolerate sin.
The Lord does not look beyond our faults and forget our wrong doings just because we want it.

We must come in Repentance.
We must be sorry for our sin. We must acknowledge that we have gone astray and return to him. He cannot forgive us if we do not truly commit to him.
He is still married to the backslider. Though the backslider has forsaken the Lord.
The Lord longs to bring you back. His desire is to restore the relationship. Not to leave you behind.

But the question is, Do you prefer Egypt? Is Babylon more to your liking. Have the false gods of this world enticed you so much that you would rather remain in your wicked ways.

Oh God, would that we would look to the hills from where our help comes from.
Oh Lord forgive our haughty hearts. Forgive our treacherous ways. Turn our eyes toward the heavens again. Cleanse our hands and heal our wayward hearts. Strip away all the desires to sin from us. As the psalmist wrote, create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a right spirit within me. Cast us not away of Lord. Your presence take not from us.

Heal our land. Forgive our sins. Allow us to be made whole again. What the enemy has meant for evil, Lord use it for your good for us.
You are the Father of lights. You give good gifts oh Lord.

The Cross of Jesus is sufficient for our healing.
The Blood of the Lamb has paid the price for our freedom. The hope of the believer is forgiveness and a new name written down in glory. The broken heart can be restored. The wayward child wants to come home. The lowly beggar has found a home in you Lord, in you.

Lord have mercy on us. Open our eyes so we may see that in you there is salvation. The Empty tomb is proof that you have power to save us.
Death could not hold you.
The cross was your greatest act of love.
But it is in your Resurrection we have eternal life in Jesus Christ.

God, help us see the error of our ways and turn back to you. Help us look to Jesus, The Author and Finisher of the Faith.
Help us have clean hands and hearts that are humbled before you.
For the one who humbles himself before you will be lifted up. The one who has been blind will see your mercy. The poor in spirit will be provided for in the riches of your love.
Your grace is enough to restore us oh Lord.

Heal our land. Heal our people. Mend our ways and as The Potter, make us a new vessel.
Let us praise you forever Lord, for you alone are worthy of our praise.
You alone have the Power to Save.
Jesus won’t you save? Help us we pray.