HEAL OUR LAND

I woke up one morning hardly singing this song:

“Father heal our land 

Father, heal our land

Hear our cry and turn our nation back to You

Lord, heal our land

Hear us oh, Lord, and heal our land

Forgive our sin and heal our broken land"

I can’t recall how many times I sang it nor understand the urgency I felt at that time.  What I only know at that time was to sing it over and over again until such time I found peace in my heart.

        While singing the chorus repeatedly, I was able to receive revelation.  The land mentioned here is not just the literal land where the people live and do business.  Of course, this song could be a prayer to a nation but the word “land” here is kind of vague.  What I received from this was, the “land” is not the literal land but it was only a figurative word for the “heart”.  Why do I say that?  Because when I received this insight, I began to sing the verse.  At first, I was not thinking of the verse nor had an intention of singing the entire song.  I even forgot to think of the verse.  I swear.  I just merely sang the chorus wholeheartedly and that’s it.  I thought, it just ended there but no, there is something I need to know and learn why the land becomes the heart.

"If my people will humble themselves

Humble themselves and pray

If they seek my face and humble themselves

And turn from their wicked ways

[REFRAIN 1]

I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins

I will hear from heaven and heal their land"

        How to be humble?  How to seek?  How to turn from wicked ways?  What matters to do these things – is it not the heart?  Yes, mind is higher than the heart and the mind can possibly do the humble and the seek thing, even turning the wicked ways, but do you think mind matters if there is no action from the heart?  As the scriptures says, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”  The key is our heart.

        When I came to know these things, I was so amazed.  Wow Lord!  We are asking You to heal our nation and yet, we tend to neglect the requirement to avail it.  I mean, how can God do it if we are not doing our part?  Of course, He can and may do because of His grace and mercy but how He can give it to the fullest?  As I consider these things, it opened my understanding that before a nation can humble itself, an individual person must do first.  How can God heal a broken land if the heart of a person is still broken?

        Do I sound kind of vague?  Let’s put it this way.  The change comes from within (as individual person).  If a person can’t humble himself, seek God and turn from his wicked ways, how can he affect others – a nation?  As individual, we have the responsibility to work out.  Look at the first sentence of the verse, the first word there is “if”, meaning, we have the choice to do our part or not.  It’s a matter of doing it with the heart and not just of the mind.

        Oftentimes, we focus only on what God can do for us.  We tend and always forget that He requires us to do our part also.  The message of this song is not just for the entirety – as a nation but it also talks about us – as an individual.  The change always comes from within – from the heart.  We are to humble our hearts before God first that we may obtain His forgiveness to heal us.