You. In the book he tells of attending a Prayer Breakfast in a continent that faced many serious issues. As the various heads of state of the different countries spoke he began to realize how serious these problems really were. During their time together one president admitted to Zacharias, "Our cumulative wisdom is unable to meet the daunting challenges of our time."Those words leaped off the page at me because they ring true for us as well. Two years ago we elected "Change we can believe in." In last fall's election much of that change was rejected as Americans voted their belief that the nation needed to go in a different direction. The problem with both elections is that we are trusting in people and mindsets that cannot solve the issues we face.
We now have a national debt that threatens to bankrupt the United States. We are fighting two wars that cost us incredible amounts of money. Despite what some critics say, these wars are against forces that would destroy us in a heartbeat if they have the opportunity, and they must be won. Millions of homes have been lost to foreclosure, and some economists claim that the problems in the housing market are not over. Others claim that until housing improves our economy will not improve. Millions of people are unemployed and have been for months. School systems are mandated to provide programs that are unfunded forcing many of them to reduce teachers and combine classes to remain solvent. In many communities the schools are broken and children are not receiving the education they will need to be successful in the 21st century. Our infrastructure is in poor repair. Illegal immigration continues to be a serious problem as we cannot control our borders. Drug usage is literally destroying entire sections of some communities and the lives of millions of people. The racialization of America continues driving people from different races and cultures further apart in every measurable way. I could go on and on listing the problems facing our nation, and these same problems, and more, exist in many other countries as well. And to quote the president Zacharias referred to, "Our cumulative wisdom is unable to meet the daunting challenges of our time."
If this nation is to be saved the answers will not come out of the White House or the state capitals. As smart as these individuals may be, they cannot provide the solutions to our problems. At best, they can only offer band-aid solutions to the problems and complain that their opponent's refusal to apply the band-aids is the reason their solutions are not working.
2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us "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." As a nation we have turned our back on God, and until we repent and turn back to Him we cannot expect the problems we now experience will ever improve. Nothing less than a spritual revival will restore health to this nation and the world, and such a revival must begin within the church. We cannot depend on the ACLU, the atheists, the Hollywood crowd, or those trying to force Christianity out of our society to repent and seek the face of God. It must begin in churches, and for such a revival to begin in churches it must first begin in the hearts of church leaders.
Do not think your church is too small to make a difference in the world. As a church leader begin to pray now for revival in your own heart and then in the life of your church. I believe that genuine revival begins in the heart of a person, then it spreads to a church, then to a community, then to a larger community, until it finally begins to impact a nation. You and your church can be the start of such a revival, and it is only that kind of revival that will bring healing to our nation and to the world.
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