Hosea 4:6-7 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.”
President Abraham Lincoln once said: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
Indeed, adversity provides a humbling influence that draws people towards God. On the other hand, power provides a prideful influence that draws people towards self. Power and wealth create and exacerbate sinful selfish impulses that elevate self-sufficiency and replace the need for God. It does the same to a nation.
America has rejected God’s knowledge and forgotten God’s law. As we have increased, we have increasingly sinned against Him. As a nation, we have withstood adversity together, but we have failed to demonstrate character as we have gained power.
Frighteningly, God has a remedy for this problem … induced humility. This remedy includes rejection and destruction. It is characterized by a withholding of God’s blessings. It contains a transformation of glory into shame. It provides a stark reminder that we are not self-sufficient and that we desperately need God. Only then, in adversity that can last for generations, will the powerful and the wealthy return to their first love – only when power and wealth are things of the past.
PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICA WOULD PRACTICE PREEMPTIVE HUMILITY BEFORE IT IS THRUST UPON US. We are failing the test of our character, and the remedy is a harsh one that is better preempted than induced.
