If My People - Conclusion

‘When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 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 I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13‭-‬14 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/2ch.7.13-14.NIVUK We do not have a relationship like this with the Lord. Our relationship is under the New Covenant, not the Old. Our relationship is at an individual, not a national, level. There are many millions in our nation who know the Name of the Lord only as a swear word or a curse. Why would the Lord heal them if they pay no attention to Him? However, healing of the whole person, including our means of survival, begins when we humble ourselves and admit we are wrong, when we pray and fervently seek to be with the Lord, even when doing so makes us feel guilty, and we turn from our wicked ways. In turn the Lord promises that He will listen, forgive our sins and bring healing where we have been wounded. There have been times when I have been wronged. It may have been a playground bully, or workplace problems when I've felt trodden on and taken advantage of. There have been times when I'm the one who made the mistakes. I had to face all of these when my contract came to an end last year and I spent four months without a regular job. I was not in a good place emotionally. I went from interview to interview without success. But, as I explain in another meditation, written towards the end of that period, God dealt with me and turned it around. You see, my problem had been that I had went from job to job without confronting the hurt and pain from being made redundant two years previously. I had pushed down the pain, internalised it and kept going. I had not thought about what I could learn from the period of eleven months where I was finishing my work and handing it on to someone else. I had tried to move on before I was ready. In reality, I think I was running from one of the toughest periods of my life, both professionally and personally, and burying myself in the hope that somehow it would all go away. It didn't. It took a confrontation with the Lord in the rain to sort me out. It took a recognition that yes, I had been wronged, but I had also made mistakes, until I could properly move on. If, like me, you were furloughed, or you are looking for work, then you will end up with way too much time on your hands. This is a time when many people's mental health will suffer greatly. But you can use this time to heal. Firstly, acknowledge the problem. Be honest before God about the pain your feeling. As the modern saying goes, "It's okay not to be okay". But also be honest about the cause. Coronavirus is a virus. It is not a weapon. It is not a curse. But our reaction to our situation can be wrong. If it is, then confess it as a sin and call it what it is. Seek the cure: humble yourself, pray, seek God's face and turn away from your sin. Receive His healing: He will hear you and will forgive you of you are willing to forgive others. We should absolutely pray that the virus leaves our land and that it is healed. One hundred percent. But we can't do it on the basis of these verses. They are based on a type of relationship we don't have with the Lord. However, our relationship with God is better. He offers us the chance to start again, based on the supreme sacrifice Christ paid on the cross. If we truly want our land to recover from this terrible plague, and I am sure we do, then the greatest cure they will ever experience is one that leads to healing and repentance. Nothing else will do.