Day Two Hundred Twenty “Inside Out”
From all outward appearance, that mighty oak tree looked full, healthy, and vibrant, but on the inside, an unseen killer lurked. Deep within that oak, a fungal disease had spread unnoticed for years, and as a result, the center of the trunk and the larger branches had gradually suffered a process of decay. Known as heart rot, the fungus continued to spread, creating hollow pockets within the tree, preventing essential water and nutrients from traveling that all-important route from the root to the branches, essentially starving the tree. Trunks and limbs eventually became unable to support their own weight, causing the tree to lose its ability to endure severe storms and high winds. And that is exactly what happened to our beautiful oak; down it came during a typical summer thunderstorm. The outer appearance gave no clue that the tree was grievously ill until those fallen limbs revealed the hollowed, rotted-out core.
As I read through the Old Testament prophets, I am in awe at the deterioration of the chosen nation of Israel, a people crumbling from within. God makes clear the reason for this downfall, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” It is mind-boggling that in a nation founded by God and built entirely upon the Godly principles given through His divine revelation somehow managed to lack “knowledge” of God, to forget Him, to reject Him. They had an abundance of facts, but lacked that first-hand experience with God.
The words of Abraham Lincoln should cause alarm bells to sound across our nation today: America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Those are powerful words, are they not? Our nation was founded upon Godly principles, built upon God’s Word, established with a desire to form a free society, a society where individual freedoms trump government oppression. God richly blessed our young nation just as He promised, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” But as Israel of old, we have “left our first love” and brought shame to our God. The knowledge of God has faded, and sin has become a “reproach” within our gates.
There is a remedy for our nation, for “If my people, which are “called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;” God promises to hear, to heal, to forgive, and to restore. “My people,” that’s us! Let us prayerfully seek God and plead for the restored spiritual health of our nation!
Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD;
God, help us to once again become a nation that follows You, loves You, serves You. Guide the hands and hearts of our leaders back to You. Help us to once again become a blessed people of God.
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