I sought the Lord at midnight. ‘Lord, show me what will become of this nation.’ I was pulled out of my bed before the rising of the sun, with this word burning like an oven.
‘America was born a slave to one master. In her youth she was set free. In time she became lofty and thought she could rule the world. Now she is a slave of many, and they will cut her down.
America was a warrior, arrayed in fleshly armor. Her armor began to rust severely, so she sought to find the cause. She did not look at the fault in her material, but found that oxygen was the cause of all rust. So she cut off the supply. Now she is on the brink of death.
America was the beloved pet of her master, a fierce dog set to guard his house. She bit the hand that fed her, and now he must put her down.’
Then this Scripture flooded my mind, along with many others:
“Hear this now, O foolish people,
Without understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD.
“Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the LORD our God,
Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season.
He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
They have grown fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
“An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?”
(Jeremiah 5:21-31)
I did not want to share this word. I fear what it will cost me. I have no confidence in myself. What do I know? Men will curse me. I know this people. Most of them despise prophecy. They will look for fault in the messenger, and they will not have to look far. I am not ready.
His word makes my stomach bitter, but it is sweet as honey in my mouth. His command calls out to my soul: “He who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully!”
I counted the cost, even to the death. Love compels me. I must obey.
Andrew Murray writes of an ancient king of a great kingdom. He decided he would go and overtake this much smaller kingdom. He sent a delegation of war to that king. As they stood before this small king, he called one of his soldiers to him; “Stab thyself“, he commanded, and the soldier did so and died. He called a second, with the same command, and he did likewise. He called a third, and the soldier obeyed him without reservation. The king said to the delegation, “I have three thousand such men. Let your king come!”
If there is any hope for this nation, it is not in the Whitehouse! It is not in the church house! It is not in the courthouse! It is the true men and women of God, who are willing to count themselves dead already, who are willing to obey God at His every word no matter the cost! It is in men like Noah, a preacher of righteousness who obeyed all that the Lord commanded him. It is in true Christ-like people who are faithful to the death. It is in men who have counted ALL THINGS LOST for the Excellence of the Knowledge of HIM!
I believe it is God’s constraining Spirit that has kept this nation standing to this day. I do not know if the there can be another stay of execution. Jonah did not go with an ultimatum to the people of Nineveh. “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” This was the prophets call. And they were gripped with the fear of God. “So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” Praise His name!
I am not a Jonah. I hope for the salvation of all people, but I will obey my God. I know that He will do what is right in His own perfection. Choose you this day who you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Your servant, ...........