Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord!

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people”

 Proverbs 14:34

Contrary to what we may have heard, people don’t make a nation great - God does!  But, people are part of the equation.  When people live righteously (pleasing and acceptable to God), God lifts up or honors that nation.

There is a remnant of people who still love God and consistently intercede for this great nation.  But, I believe there is a direct correlation between our slipping away from God and the troubles of our nation and even how other nations perceive us.   God is not allowing our nation to be exalted because we no longer exalt Him or live righteous!   In fact, our sin has brought disgrace to us. When I say “we“, it’s because when we pray or intercede for this nation, we must see ourselves as part of the problem as Moses would do when he interceded for Israel. 

Referring back to the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, the Lord God said to His people through Moses and later Joshua to follow all the decrees and laws that He (God) had given them.  He went onto say that even the surrounding nations would hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation (Israel) is a wise and understanding people.”  “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him (4:6-7)?  But God made it clear that he was to be their only God.  He cautioned them regarding having any other gods before them.  He said to the people…  “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.  Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (Deut.4:9). 

In Deuteronomy 14, you will see the blessings that come when we obey the Lord.  God said he would make Israel the head, not the tail - meaning he would exalt them because of their righteousness before Him.  He said if they would pay attention to the commands and carefully follow them - they would always, not once in awhile, be at the top, never at the bottom. 

There is a living God who loves us individually and as a nation.  He has great plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11) in that he desires to prosper us as a nation, not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future.  He wants us to be able to call upon Him in prayer and He has promised to listen to us IF we confess our sin.  God says He will be found by us if we seek Him with all of our heart.  He wants to free us from our captivity to sin.  He wants to bless us and keep us and shine His face upon us and be gracious to us.  He wants to give our nation His peace.  

The Lord says in James - “Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn and wail.  Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up” (4:8-13).

Let’s get serious about being righteous before God.  We question why our nation is suffering at so many levels, but we are remiss about our sin.  Our nation needs God and God needs this nation to be a city shining on a hill for Him (Matthew 5:14) and to the nations abroad.   God wants to exalt this nation, but righteous living must give Him a reason to do so.