OUR SWIM IN THE SWAMP HAS A PURPOSE

For the past few years, believers have consistently quoted 2 Chronicles 7:14 as the benchmark for national repentance. But, there is a backdrop and context to this verse that should challenge us in how we judge the present crises we face as a nation.

In the preceding chapter, Solomon leads the people in dedicating the Temple after years of preparation. They had done everything required and were determined to walk in the ways of the Lord. In his prayer, Solomon makes a deal with God. He wanted to make sure the people stuck to their promises and asked the Lord to hold them accountable…

Then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. Then they will fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors. (2 Chronicles 6:30 NLT).

Solomon told the Lord to give His people what their choices and actions “deserve” – good or bad. He does not ask God to bless the people without merit or to overlook any future bad choices out of mercy. Instead, he asks God to follow through with any negative consequences of sin committed by His people – SO THAT they will learn the fear of the Lord.

It’s in THIS context that the Lord responds in the next chapter with our oft-quoted verse:

At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 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 restore their land. (2 Chronicles 7:13-14 ESV)

This famous promise was not in response to an enemy attack or some random declaration from heaven. It was God answering Solomon’s petition for accountability – “OK, you want accountability? Here’s what I’ll do… “ The only way the people would walk in the fear of the Lord would be for them to taste the results of their rebellion and learn the dire consequences of disobedience. Confronted with disasters and crises, they would be faced with their own limitations and hopefully turn back to God. Though this deal with heaven may seem drastic, it was necessary in order for the nation to maintain their covenant with the Lord.

Today, our nation is truly getting what we have deserved because of some bad choices we’ve made. Because of the Church’s lack of engagement in the public square and our apathy in voting, we are now reaping the results of our inaction. Though many are waking up to this dilemma and wanting to turn things around, there are yet sleepers and those who walk in unbelief. But, I believe God is at work, bringing them to the place of seeing the consequences of their choices so that they, too, can yield fully to the Lord. We must pray this happens so that our collective unity will be strong, steadfast, and secure.

Though it means that even the righteous must bear the consequences of these wrong choices for a time, I believe we will triumph if we understand the Lord’s greater purposes. He doesn’t want some glib acquiescence or forced submission. He is going after the doubters and those who have yet to wake up. He wants our full surrender and wholehearted devotion and He’s willing to take the time needed if it means He has us – completely.

As much as we want the swamp to be drained, we might all have to take a dip before the plug is pulled. But, take heart. I hear mud baths are really good for you.

***********************

Last 3 days to get the Special Small Group 5+1 PACK!

More and more groups are going through the book and video series on MOVING FROM SWORD TO SCEPTER. Don’t miss out. Special ends this weekend! HERE’S A COMPLIMENTARY VIEW OF SESSION 11: The Mordecai Mandate: Securing Your City

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xcuTd2qaRU[/embedyt]

Real-Time Alerts

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wanda Alger

Wanda Alger

Wanda has been in ministry for over 35 years as a worship leader, teacher, author, deliverance counselor, and speaker.

Comments

5 Responses

  1. This is so in line with what the Lord has spoken to me. Last summer in 2019, I was talking to the Lord about swimming with gators and crocodiles. And I said Lord, even though I trust you, even if you said to me swim through this gator infested water and nothing will harm you, I wouldn’t want to go that way…just knowing they were in the water. I was thinking of those challenge tv game shows where people are blindfolded or it is dark and they have to reach in a touch different things (often snakes, spiders, etc) to win the challenge. I would not play that game!
    Later last summer (2019), I felt like the Lord said, Church I’m about to lead you through gator infested waters that you’re not going to want to walk through. But trust Me, this is the only way to the things I have for you. And I was reminded of Psalm 23, and what is on the other side of the valley of the shadow of death.
    I believe the Lord is waking us up before it is too late.

  2. This is so good! I agree, the shaking we’ve been in and what we see as a delay in God’s answers are really His grace and mercy toward those in the body who have not yet awaken. He wants His church, so He’s not in a hurry to “rescue” us from our circumstances. I so appreciate the words you share. They so resonate with what I’ve been sensing the Lord saying as well. Thank you also for your book, Moving From Sword to Scepter. It’s given me a total paradigm shift in my thinking and prayer. I recommend it to friends all the time.

  3. BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO 💕 HALLELUJAH AMEN 💞 SHABBAT SHALOM 💞 HUGS💞 BLESSINGS 💞 HERSHEY PENNA 💕 🔥🔥 🔥🔥 🔥🔥 🔥🔥 🔥🔥 🔥🔥 🔥💜🕎 💜✡️💜 🎶💃 🎶🎵 💃🎵 🎶💃 🎶💞🇺🇸💕 🇮🇱💕 THANKS 🤗 PRECIOUS 💞

  4. God is bringing America to her knees. Why? To repent for her arrogance, her selfishness, her indifference to God and others, being superficial, and paying lip service to God, and overall, for not ‘Seeking First God’s Kingdom’, but instead seeking our own kingdoms first.
    This is the lukewarm church that God will spit out. Do not seek ‘signs, wonders and miracles’. Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to thank him, and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:11-19.
    Miracles may heal, but they don’t remove our sinful nature, our ingratitude to God and our fellow man, they don’t make us more loving. After a while you just become desensitised or indifferent to one more healing.
    Will they guarantee a marriage from breaking up, or for people to care and love one another more, unless you are already focused on those areas of Jesus’ words.
    They become just about justifying one’s own faith, and ‘my’ own spiritual salvation.
    Like the lepers, they only cared that now they were healed, but did they praise God and thank Jesus, and go on to testify about what Jesus had done for them?
    What did Jesus say about our fallen nature?:
    Mt 15:9 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
    Who has been healed of all these sins given that to look at a woman lustfully you have committed adultery in your heart. Are we washing our robes as stated in Rev 22:14. That is working out our salvation with fear and trembling, Phil 2:12 and James 2:14-26
    Signs, wonders and miracles are all passive. They may help you to have faith, but they won’t remove our fallen nature without our 100% investment, and this is the mistake many Christians make, they emphasise miracles too much. In the ‘hierarchy of God’s priorities’, they are not the most important, as 1 Cor 13 explains. This also explains the following verse:
    Mt 7:21 “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’
    Why would Jesus say that? Because we did not love like Jesus loved us, and lay down our life for a friend, that being our neighbour, our brother and sister, and with Jesus, our enemy also. That is how we will be judged, as the standard of judgment is based on unconditional sacrificial love.
    That is the standard we have to meet, and our own conscience will know that better than anyone else. That is the point about judgment we have to understand. Hell is what we create when our heart, mind, soul and body are not in alignment with God’s and Jesus’. Now you know the significance of the Two Great Commandments.
    When something comes off the production line, that particular item must meet the standard and purpose it was originally created for. That is quality control. If it does not meet that standard it will be rejected, just as if you do not pass an exam, you will have to re-sit it, or be failed.
    This is what as Christians we must understand. We don’t get to live our lives any old way we choose, because we too have to meet that standard of quality control. That is why Jesus said:
    Mt 5:48 “You therefore must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”. Jesus did not say, ‘may be perfect’ or even ‘try to be perfect’ he said, ‘must be perfect’. That is the ‘Original Heavenly Standard’. Therefore we mustn’t think just because ‘I’m ‘saved”, that it’s all plain sailing from here. It is not. That is also why Jesus said:
    Mt 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few”.
    Jesus is also referring to Christians.
    Without love, sacrificial love, all these other things are meaningless as we know from the sacrifice Jesus made for us. We were created in God’s Image, which especially means God’s Heart, the desire to give and receive love.
    Yes, God wants to be loved too, but if His children are disobeying him all over the place, God is not experiencing that love through obedience, 1 Sam 15:22-23, and not seeing it manifest in His world of Creation.
    Therefore God needs to kick butt, he needs to make things unpleasant, so that we will wake up and get back to basics. Repent, pray, love God, love your neighbour, the Two Great Commandments, and Jesus’ new Commandment, love one another as I have loved you, and in John’s letter:
    1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 15 Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
    17 But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth”.
    America must repent so that the floor is wet with your tears, your drool and your mucous, otherwise God can not hear us. We will have no connection to God’s heart. If we come together in sincerity and pray to God with this heart of acknowledging I have not been serious about knowing God, keeping his Commandments, loving my neighbour and ‘Seeking first Gods Kingdom’, involuntarily you will have this kind of experience, because it will foremostly be God weeping through you, moved by His children reaching out to Him in repentance. A weight will be lifted from God’s Heart if we are sincere, and God will be able to be with us, guide us and bless us, and significantly, protect us. What do you think the heart of the Father is? Also what is the heart of the Mother?
    That’s better than any miracle, sign or wonder, because that will be ‘your’ miracle, sign and wonder, of the presence of God in your life. Love God, love your brother and sister, love your enemy, and seek first God’s Kingdom, and it will manifest in your midst, not from outside yourself but within yourself first.
    Luke 17:20 “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is ‘not coming with signs’ to be observed; 21 nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Real-Time Alerts

Menu

Your Cart

Follow Wanda on social media