“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. …The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. So all the peoples of the earth will SEE that you are called by the name of the Lord… The LORD will make you abound in prosperity… The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. …” Deuteronomy 28:1, 9-14 NASB

A promise to the nation of Israel, yes; and we come under it through the bloodline of Christ. As a nation that has professed Christianity, making us one nation under God, we trust the promises of God are true for us who believe. In that faith, the world has long known us as a Christian nation and are shocked when they see we struggle as they do, and sometimes much worse.

Drought in large portions of our nation; fires bringing great destruction; some of the largest disasters in our history; and the political atmosphere, economic issues, cultural division, and ever rising national debt! Our scripture tells us that others “see” that we bear the name of the Lord by the obedience we give to His will done His way, thus, reaping the blessings He sends. Suffice to say, our nation is symptomatic of one who no longer understands the nuances of bearing the name of the Lord.

This passage in Deuteronomy 28 (above) and the call to prayer in 2 Chronicles 7 (pictured and quoted below) make clear the expectation God has in us being known by His name, but what does that mean? It is obviously something that can be observed by others. What does that look like?

Second Chronicles 7:14 reveals that those called by His name sincerely seek Him with repentant hearts that turn away from wicked ways. Repentance flows out of a heart after God’s own heart, desiring Him above all and choosing to follow His will instead of our own. This heart is the soil from which the image of God grows and matures, bringing about the bearing of the fruit of His Spirit in us.

That fruit born out of relationship with God blesses us first with increased strength in that vital relationship. Keeping God first, our love relationship with God sustains us. That relationship empowers all else: right and blessed relationships with others – mates, children; parents, siblings; employers, co-workers, employees; neighbors, friends, strangers, and other nations. Right and good relationships reveal God and His BLESSings in a people and their land.

God promises that He blesses those who abide in relationship with Him in this fruit bearing way. He supplies weather conditions that produce crops to feed us. He supplies work through which we gain wealth. He provides strength, wisdom, and prowess that makes our nation strong against any would-be enemy. He blesses the nation and its people, so they may lend, but never have to borrow.

If we want our nation to stand strong again, it begins in the heart. And that begins with knees bent in surrendered repentance to a Holy God we want and know the need of above all other desires.

“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 NASB