Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming; Surely it is near… (Joel 2:1).
While preaching to American soldiers in Bataan during World War II, U. S. Army chaplain W. T. Cummings said, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” His point to those young soldiers was that when we are faced with the certainty of dying, then the certainty of God becomes more real.
We are a nation at war. We have enemies in the world that seek our destruction. Also, America is a nation at war with itself. The most basic institutions of our society are being challenged. The scriptures teach us that civil government is ordained of God and its purpose is to establish justice and righteousness within society (Romans 13). However, many believe that our government fails miserably in upholding justice and the concept of righteousness completely eludes our leaders. There is brewing in our nation today much discontent among law abiding citizens. The popular sport of the day is the character assignation of our political leaders. There is a spirit of rebellion in the land.
I am convinced that neither political party is concerned with justice and righteousness in our society, but only with power. When we are faced with the decay of our society, then the certainty of our need for God becomes more real.
The Scriptures teach us that the family is ordained by God and its purpose is to train our children to love God, to honor elders, to work hard and to respect one’s neighbors. Be we are no longer committed as a society to the concept of the family. Young men and young women do not take seriously their marriage vows, especially the words “for better or worse.” Divorce is the rule of the day. Children are no longer reared in secure family environments, but they are reared in an environment of warfare – a warfare in which their mothers and fathers are the combatants. Further, many mothers and fathers no longer view their role as the teacher of their children as significant. We send our children off to be trained by strangers while we pursue our own interests. We have turned our children loose in the streets without moral guidance. So we have children with no conscience, who cheat, lie, steal, commit sexual immorality and even kill, with no sense of remorse. When we are faced with these troubling developments in family life the certainty of our need for God becomes more real.
Like soldiers in foxholes, faced with their own mortality, we have become a nation facing its own moral decline. Like the atheist who becomes a believer in the foxhole, it is time that we as a nation of cynics become a nation seeking God’s help. I am reminded of the words of scripture: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
During this Lenten season, let us join together in a time of repentance and intercession so that God may indeed bless America. Christians throughout the land must heed this call to repentance and prayer. We must not join in the sport of political character assassination, but heed the words of the apostles to honor our leaders and to pray for them. We must do more that point a finger of judgment at the failures of our society; we must sincerely pray for our families. Christians must not be prophets of doom, but we must become heralds of the good news of Jesus Christ. We must do more than criticize the ills of society; we must become the bearers of hope for our society.
