I'm Feeling Like an Israelite in Exile

 As we continue to adjust almost daily to the new "normal" of covid 19, I'm beginning to feel like I'm in exile in a foreign land.  Increasingly our government is impinging on our "space".  Gradually our freedoms are being eroded.  If we complain, those in power only tighten the demands on us just like the Egyptian taskmasters did to the Israelites.  What can we do to change our situation?

I remember attending a school board meeting once intending to speak on an issue that was on the docket.  The meeting dragged on and on, dealing with one mundane matter after the other.  When we reached 10 p.m. and they still had not opened the floor for those of us who came to speak, I realized that no matter what we might say, they had already decided what they would do.  Our input would make absolutely no difference even if we stayed long enough to voice it.  That is somewhat like the feeling I have now.  Our government, which is supposedly "of the people, by the people and for the people" has been taken captive by those in office.  Although they were put there by the people, they operate without regard to the desires of the people.  Instead, they tell us what our desires are and seek to legitimize their agenda.  So what are we to do?

We must do what the Israelites did.  For over 400 years while they were in bondage the cried out to God for deliverance.  Even when it didn't happen in their lifetime, their children and grandchildren continued to cry out until finally, after 400+ years God said, "I have heard your cries".  We must recognize that ballot boxes aren't secure and politicians will tell you what you want to hear without changing their agenda.  Our only recourse is to cry out to God and to teach out children and grandchildren to do the same until God delivers.  I know that when I cry out to God regarding the situation in America, I probably will not see the answer to my prayers, but possibly my grandchildren will.

Therefore I, as a person who is called by God's name, choose to humble myself and pray and seek God's face and turn from my wicked ways (and the wicked ways of my contemporaries) in faith that God will hear from heaven and will forgive our sins and heal our land.  Sound familiar?  Look at 2 Chronicles 7:13-14.  And just like the Israelites, keep on praying.  Remember what Paul told the Galatians; Gal. 6:9 "Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up."