A prophecy of what God wants
There is a lot of debate back and forth as to whether America is done, finished. Some Christians say there is no hope for America, that judgment is upon her and that she is on the way out. Others say that it’s all in God’s hands and He will decide what happens to America. Still others say that Christian Americans need to exercise 2 Chronicles 7:14, and “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.” And there is even an ilk that suggests never giving up, doing the Lord’s work, praying and acting in faith. Not all are wrong. Not all are right. But what does God want?
Now I know that many will push back and say, “how do you know what God wants?” In general, if you read the Bible, you will know what God wants. And all the excuses and over-spiritualization are never going to hit the mark if you are true to yourself with God’s Word. Isaiah 58:2 tells us, “Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God. Why have we fasted, they say, and you see not? why have we afflicted our soul, and you take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers.”
The religious leaders and many of their followers in the time of Isaiah were much like those today. They want everyone to know they are fasting and praying and sounding spiritual. But that’s not what the Lord wants from his people. Isaiah 58:5-7 tells us: “Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? when you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh?”
Going through the motions, but not making them count for much, is the same as making a show of fasting and praying. Did the Lord say “go to this conference or that,” “make a big show over your spirituality,” or “make my house a kingdom unto itself”? No. We hear from the Lord through Isaiah, and from the Lord Jesus himself that our “fast” here is to loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, set the oppressed free, feed the hungry, house the poor, clothe the naked. These are actions backed up by prayer and faith. If the “church” body was doing these things, showing its faith by its works, there would be extraordinary and supernatural impact on our nation. More so than attending any self-improvement seminar.
In fact, the Lord spells out the reward of these actions in Isaiah 58 in verses 9-12, “Then shall you call, and the LORD shall answer…And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in the darkness, and your darkness be as the noon day: And the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they from among you shall build the old waste places: you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of streets to dwell in.” This is what God wants, for you and for our nation.
