Humble Yourself

We hear so much about gloom and doom today that sometimes we may think that there is no hope for America or any other nation, but that is not necessarily true.  One thing that will help us in receiving God’s blessings once again is our willingness to repent as individuals and as a nation.  Take for instance the story of Nineveh; they were a wicked city, full of violence and God was going to overthrow that wicked city.  They had the death sentence pronounced on them.  When God finally got Jonah’s attention he went through the city with a message of gloom and doom of how God was going to overthrow the city in forty days.  But, they listened to what was said and a revival took place.  It affected every person in that city of about 175,000 people, which took Jonah three days to walk through.  Even the King of Nineveh was so affected by Jonah’s message that he responded but not the way we would expect.  

Please read what took place and what the King said in Jonah 3:4-10, “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”

Repentance made the difference, not only in that city and in those people but all down through the ages.  Since then people have repented and turned from their wicked ways, which is what repentance means, and have seen revival in their own hearts and great revivals that have affected different cities and even some nations.

Now let’s go to 2 Chronicles, chapter 6, Solomon asked God to make provisions for the people when they sinned.  This was taken from the footnotes in my Life Application Study Bible, King James Version; it says God answered with four conditions for forgiveness:

(1) Humble yourself by admitting your sins   

(2) Pray to God asking for forgiveness

(3) Seek for God continually

(4) Turn from sinful behavior

If we sin individually, or a group of people sin, or a nation of people sin, or even a city, if they follow the steps listed above, God will forgive them. 

Repentance takes more than just the words that we say, it will take action on our part.  He is a just and loving God who seeks the humble and contrite heart!!  So there is still hope for us and our nation, praise God!!  So if you want God to heal our nation and the other nations of the world, repent whether you are a believer or a non-believer.  Don’t think just because you are a believer you don’t have to repent that you are just fine, none of us are perfect or we wouldn’t be here we would be with the Lord.  King David was a believer and so was Peter but they both sinned and had to repent.  

If you still don’t think you need to repent of your sins because you are a believer, read 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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 will heal their land.”

I think all of God’s people should take this verse to heart and respond accordingly, if they need to.  I have given you something to think about, the choice is up to you, I hope you will make the right choice and humble yourself before God and repent if you need to and pray for the church and the nation to do likewise and for a great Holy Ghost revival to break forth; I believe it is not too late for this to take place!!  May God bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!