Substitutions: Why Revival Tarries

Growing up with a mother who is an excellent cook is a blessing. But in spite of her culinary prowess, there was one menu item my mom failed to consistently master over the years . . . biscuits. Somehow, she regularly committed the same faux pas in preparing them. By all outward appearances, the biscuits looked just as they should. However, some unfortunate family member would inevitably be the first to take a bite of a steaming buttered biscuit only to discover that once again my mother had substituted baking soda for baking powder... Now there are some substitutions in cooking that work beautifully, but just ask any of my siblings who decades later still have the flavor of baking soda biscuits indelibly printed on their taste buds---there are some substitutions in cooking that can ruin a good recipe. When it comes to biscuits, the long term effect of bad substitutions is insignificant, but when it comes to the kingdom of God, the results can be disastrous.

As the Christian community has walked through the past 10 months, there has been a growing concern about our country. With a significant presidential election, the unstable prices of fuel and food, and the cataclysmic economic rumblings, Christians are wrestling to find a place to put our feet. Inevitably as we have heard these numerous concerns expressed, most of us have probably heard the well known verse quoted again: "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." (II Chronicles 7:14)

Is it my imagination, or is this verse not quoted with quite the same confidence and bravado today as it was quoted in years past? How many times have we as Christians claimed the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 for our country only to be disappointed with the lack of visible results? Certainly the Word and promises of God stand true. Even if our faith falters, the character and power of God has not changed. Just over 150 years ago, in the midst of similar financial and cultural turmoil, regular people began to pray and God answered by bringing over one million people (out of the 30 million total US population at that time) into the kingdom of God in one year (read more here). Less than 50 years ago, God sent a similar revival that swept Canada and rippled throughout the world (watch a wonderful testimony here). Why isn't God doing similar things today?

At the heart of the problem is a substitution so subtle and yet so significant that it has hindered the hand of God from doing all that He longs to do. In our concern for our country, we have clung to the promise found in this verse, viewing it as a checklist of what we must do in order to save our land. However, God never intended the Scriptures to be a formula for success. They were meant to reveal the heart and character of God and His provision of a Savior for our sins--so that we could know and love Him. All too often we look to God only for the gifts He will give us, not for the loving relationship He desires to have with us. Can we really grasp how He loves us and longs for us to love Him in return?

William Mason put it so beautifully in his devotional entitled "Christ is All":

"We were once stout-hearted rebels against His crown and government! But, O the love of His royal heart! Instead of executing fierce vengeance upon us, for our sins—lo, He came from heaven to earth, with a flame of love in His heart, and matchless grace on His lips—on purpose . . .
-to die for us,
-to wash us from our sins in His own blood,
-to conquer the rebellion of our hearts against Him,
-and to win our affections to Him."(more here)

All too often we live our days in quiet unbelief and rebellion against our Savior, pursuing sin or seeking fulfillment in things that were meant to add joy to our lives but never satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. When we live this way, the Living God, the Creator of the Universe is relegated to a smaller and smaller place, until we are fully on the throne of our hearts. How subtly this happens. We seldom intend to make this substitution, but in the busy daily choices of life we inevitably let the love of family, pleasure, and self crowd out our beloved Savior. And when His love and blessings fail to woo us, His only remaining option is to slowly allow difficult circumstances to catch us off guard enough so that we can hear His still small voice calling us to return to Him. All too often when things get uncomfortable, instead of seeing our own desperate need, we take a verse that is calling us to return to a love relationship with Him and turn it into a checklist of things to do. . . .all the while keeping our heart cool toward Him and holding on to our favorite sins.

William Mason clarifies the real thrust of 2 Chronicle 7:14:

"O for a single eye to look unto Jesus, a humble heart to sit at His feet, and a simple soul to hear and believe every word from His gracious lips, that we may know the love of Christ—constantly know it by a heartfelt sense of it. This, this is the one thing needful—to make poor sinners rich, and miserable sinners happy in time, and joyful to all eternity!

Remember your chief employment. It is not merely to make a profession, and to keep up a form of godliness; but to maintain and keep up a warm, lively, comfortable sense of the love of Christ in your hearts, from day to day, yes, from hour to hour!" (more here)

When we return to God with our whole heart, He can heal our land because He can finally heal us. He can heal our land because the very instruments that He chooses to use to bring salvation and wholeness to a lost and dying world are finally "fit for the Master's use". Unbelievers will then begin to sense their need for a Savior, not because of the persuasiveness of our words, but because of the contrast in our lives. And there is no substitute for that.

Some have called for a day of prayer and fasting on Monday, November 3. We urge you to prayerfully consider setting aside this day, especially in light of the elections on Tuesday.