How do you fix a broken nation?
Add another government program? More economic stimulus? Elect a different president?
Humanistic thinking could easily lead you to any of these conclusions. America has certainly tried time and time again. But have you noticed that it never works? No man-made solution has ever been able to solve the root problem.
Oddly enough, there is a solution that will get to the heart of every issue. It is not a secret, nor is it complicated or expensive. It has been in front of us our entire lives, but in recent generations it has not been applied on a national level.
In fact, the one solution that can fix this broken nation is the solution that Americans (as a whole) appear to be most unwilling to try.
The reason man-made solutions have not worked is because they apply social, economic, and political solutions to a spiritual problem. To solve a spiritual problem, you need a spiritual solution.
The Pledge
In 1954, President Eisenhower felt that an important ingredient was missing from the United States pledge of allegiance. At his prompting, Congress added the words “under God”, giving us the final version of the pledge that we use today.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
At the time, few Americans would have disagreed with the idea that we are a nation under God. And yet, there were major cultural changes that were advancing under the surface and eroding the truth of the newly updated pledge.
Fast forward three or four generations and the turmoil is no longer under the surface, to say the least. It may be more accurate to say one nation in rebellion against God.
The Solution
The ancient nation of Israel experienced a similar rebellion against God. At the height of Israel’s glory, the dedication of the First Temple in Jerusalem, God already knew about the fall that would come and He gave King Solomon the solution:
Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house; and Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence 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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:11-14 (NKJV)
The solution that will bring God’s healing on our land is for God’s people to humble themselves, pray and seek God, and turn from their wicked ways.
Just as judgment begins with the household of God (I Peter 4:17), so does healing. And it starts with humility. In the age of Covid, there’s been a lot of talk about immunity but if there’s one thing to which America has immunity, it is humility.
Going Astray
Like the ancient nation of Israel, America started out by dedicating itself to God. Our forefathers made a covenant with God Almighty that we would follow His commands and stand apart from other nations. Now, our nation looks much like Israel in the time of Ezekiel, when God declared He would judge the nation according to their ways and bring all their abominations upon them.
In Ezekiel, Israel is described as:
- trusting in their silver and gold
- acquiring dishonest gain
- God’s blessings turned into a source of pride rather than gratitude
- the people began to idolize their abominations and detestable things
- the land was full of bloody crimes
- the city was full of violence
And still greater abominations are described as:
- the elders were corrupt and apostate
- false prophets were giving false visions
- the priest profaned the holy items of the Temple
- the very house of God was filled with the worship of idols
- God’s name was being profaned among the nations because of Israel’s sins
- and most heartbreaking of all, the people were sacrificing their children to idols
God describes the sons of Israel as rebellious, disobedient, stubborn, and obstinate. And a people who provoked the Lord repeatedly. All of these indictments apply equally to current-day America.
Humbly Depending on Him
Even amongst a wicked and perverse generation, God’s people can shine as beacons of truth in the darkness.
First and foremost, we must make no provision for sin in our lives. In order to glorify God, the Bible tells us that the righteous must wholeheartedly obey His commands with reverence. Isaiah 66:2 says, “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
God’s children are also called to “groan and sigh over all the abominations which are being committed in [their] midst” (Ezekiel 9:4). And how can we not do this, if we have any moral fiber in our beings? We should be like Daniel, crying out on behalf of his nation, confessing their rebellion against God, and seeking restoration for God’s name sake (Daniel 9).
Finally, we must stand as watchmen who warn our fellow man to repent and turn back to God. We must lovingly speak truth amongst cultural lies, without being frightened by any fear and leaving the consequences in God’s hands. Doing so may not win us any popularity contests with the world, but we should be far more concerned with God’s opinion of us.
The Lord told Ezekiel, “According to their conduct I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 7:27b)
The choice is clear: we either walk in rebellion against God or humbly depend on Him. There is no middle ground.
Reckoning for Sin
In Daniel’s time, King Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of the world’s top super power—Babylon. Not surprisingly, he had an issue with pride and failed to recognize the one true God as ruler of all. God, in His mercy, decided to teach Nebuchadnezzar a lesson and humble him by taking away his mental faculties and causing him to live like an animal. God told him this would continue “until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes” (Daniel 4:25). It took seven long years, but Nebuchadnezzar did finally repent and acknowledge God’s sovereignty over the nations.
Today, America is the world’s top super power and struggles with the same rebellious pride against God. Would it not be highly inconsistent if the Lord turned a blind eye to our abominations? There are countless examples in Scripture of God bringing judgment on a nation, and we’ve already seen the same patterns beginning to take place in our time. God’s judgment is not merely vindictive; a loving Father uses discipline and correction for our own good, to protect us.
For a nation like America which has claimed the Lord as our God from our founding, there is another dynamic, which is that the Lord will not allow His name to be profaned indefinitely. Unless America turns back to God, we can expect a reckoning. He will judge us according to our conduct, as He told the children of Israel.
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live.” Ezekiel 18:30-32 (NASB)
God is calling to America. Repentance is still an option, but not indefinitely. Humility can turn away wrath, but we are fast approaching the point of no return.
If America does not repent, the watchman’s cry of warning will soon become a cry of mourning.
“As for you, son of man, groan with a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news, for it is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 21:6-7 (NASB)
