Return To Me - God! By Dan Gallagher

Although most cat owners are pretty accustomed to their pet's 
aloofness, dog owners generally expect a higher level of obedience, 
especially when you want them to "come." One morning I was confronted 
with some canine independence when I called my dog. As usual, he found 
the neighbor's activities a lot more intriguing than anything he 
thought I had to offer. Standing his ground firmly, almost as if his 
feet were welded in place, he looked at me over his shoulder. It was 
clear that he had no concern for my schedule or my need that he come, 
NOW!

It may seem far-fetched to some, but there was a spiritual lesson I 
gleaned from my pooch's self-centeredness. What struck me that morning 
was how God has been calling out to people in much the same way that I 
called to my dog, and just like my dog ignored me, for the most part 
people have ignored Him. One of the first stories in Scripture tells of 
God walking in the Garden, calling out to Adam, "Where are you?" (Gen. 
3:8). God's repeated plea to people throughout human history has been, 
"Return to Me!" He has always sought those who will serve Him with more 
than mere words.

    Zechariah 1:3
    Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 
'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' 
says the LORD Almighty.

    Joel 2:12
    "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, 
with fasting and weeping and mourning."

There are consequences for how people respond to God's call

It is easy to see that most people go about their daily lives with 
little thought or concern for God or His ways. Sadly, few understand 
that God has told mankind that there are very clear and definite 
consequences for how people respond to God's call.

There are great benefits for all those who obey God, so much so, that 
their obedience can actually affect their weather, the fruitfulness of 
the harvest, and the safety of their countries. God expresses this 
spiritual reality in a number of sections of Scripture, and the essence 
of this truth is captured in Leviticus.

    Leviticus 26:3-5
    (3) 'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,
    (4) I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield
its crops and the trees of the field their fruit.
    (5) Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape 
harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you 
want and live in safety in your land.

The lesson seems pretty clear: honor God and He will provide for and 
protect those who love and obey Him. But, just as obedience brings 
about God's benevolence, so too, disobedience can produce great 
disaster.

    Leviticus 26:21
    "If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will 
multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve.

This promise of reward or calamity applies to both individuals and 
nations as a whole. The following section is not just about God's 
chosen people, Israel. Some read it thinking it applies only to Israel, 
however it says, "... if a country..." meaning any country.

    Ezekiel 14:13-14
    (13) "Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful 
and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and 
send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals,
    (14) even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they 
could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the 
Sovereign LORD.

We cannot dismiss this section of Scripture as archaic or something 
that does not concern us today. I have heard some people say, "But that 
only applies to Israel because they had a covenant with God." But the 
record makes it clear that he is speaking unconditionally to any 
country. There are severe consequences for any country that turns its 
back on God. God's hope would have been that He got people's attention 
by naming the four judgments mentioned: famine, wild beasts, sword, and 
plague, since they were the four main causes of death among the ancient 
civilizations. We Christians want to live under the blessing of God, 
but far too frequently fail to see that many of His blessings in this 
life are conditioned upon our obedience to Him. Any nation that honors 
Him will be blessed, and "any" that does not will suffer for it.

Understanding the shifting balance in the spiritual battle

Throughout time God has demonstrated His great love for people by His 
providence, that is, His provision and His protection. But sin always 
produces a separation between man and God, and because of His holiness 
and righteousness, it limits Him in His ability to come to our aid in 
the spiritual battle.

It may help to think of God's favor by seeing it as a hand placed over 
us. Our sin causes Him to lift His hand, which allows the enemy to slip 
in under it and harm us. The lifting of God's hand, the withdrawing of 
His favor happens on both a personal and national scale. Although the 
following verse is specifically directed towards the people of 
Jerusalem, the principle seems clear: when people sin deliberately and 
grievously by rejecting God and His ways, He withdraws His favor.

    Ezekiel 5:11
    Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because 
you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable 
practices, I myself will withdraw my favor; I will not look on you with 
pity or spare you.

There is a "tipping point" in the spiritual battle

The spiritual battle raging around us is a cosmic war between good and 
evil, and like any war, there is a constant shifting in who is winning 
between the two combatants at any given time. When people act 
righteously, honoring God, and doing what He says to do, it causes a 
shift in the heavenly realms. Our acting in holy ways increases His 
ability to intervene on our behalf. Conversely, when people 
deliberately reject Him the enemy increases in his ability to do evil. 
He rushes in, taking over more spiritual territory and causing evil to 
increase.

Unlike the game of chess where there can be a stalemate between the two 
players, a standoff between good and evil rarely occurs. At any given 
time one side is always increasing while the other decreases. And, when 
one side gains enough movement in their favor they can reach a "tipping 
point," the time when they have tremendous advantage and momentum.

An easy way to understand the "tipping point" is to picture an object 
like a book or a brick standing upright. When you push against the top 
it will begin to lean, and eventually, if you keep pushing, it will 
fall over on its own because it has passed the "tipping point." In the 
spiritual realm there is a point when enough of a shift in one 
direction has occurred that good or evil will increase exponentially. 
In the case of a nation, when this happens with evil, great calamity 
occurs. The tipping point has been passed and God's ability to 
intervene is severely limited. Many times it is the dire state of 
events that helps people to see their need for God, and this in turn 
drives them right back into His arms.

How does this apply to us?

There is much to learn from the story of Israel's numerous rises and 
falls. The ups and downs are directly connected to how they waxed and 
waned in their service to God. He was clear with them when He called 
them as a nation. In essence He said, "Bless Me and I will bless 
you—ignore me and you will suffer!"

"God Bless America" is a very common maxim in this country, but in the 
spiritual battle, pithy platitudes are never enough. It is delusional 
to think we can have God's blessing when we live in a way that 
dishonors Him. It is arrogant to think that we as a nation can ban God 
from the schools, padlock Him from our public institutions, ignore Him 
in the justice system, and reject Him through our immoral behavior and 
then still think that He will "Bless America." This is like waxing a 
rusted car fender, thinking that it will fix the problem. The issue is 
decay, and it cannot be fixed with cosmetics. It is prideful to think 
that a country can ignore God's directions and commands and not suffer 
for it.

    Hosea 7:10
    Israel's arrogance testifies against him,but despite all this he 
does not return to the LORD his God or search for him.

    Hosea 5:4 and 5
    (4) "Their deeds do not permit them to returnto their God. A spirit 
of prostitutionis in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD.
    (5) Israel's arrogance testifies against them;

How is the United States today any different from Israel in Hosea's 
day? America, as well as many other nations, is not honoring the 
Almighty, and at some point our rejection of Him will result in 
calamity. I am not saying that there are no righteous, God-fearing and 
God-seeking people in our country. Many ask, "Are these the End Times?" 
Only time will tell, but one thing we do know for certain is that there 
has been a worldwide increase of geo-physical disasters, wars, famines, 
religious upheaval, and economic implosion. These things will increase 
until people turn their hearts back to God.

America, bless God—then God will bless America

I want God to bless America and I pray for that all the time, but what 
too few seem to remember is that in order for God to bless any nation, 
that nation must bless God. God would have to go against His very 
nature for this not to be the case. The spiritual rules God established 
tell us that "what one sows he reaps." When we sow unrighteousness we 
will reap disaster.

Our nation's forefathers recognized the role God played in the founding 
of this country. In his inaugural address George Washington stated,

    "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand 
which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. 
Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an 
independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of 
providential agency;"

After being sworn into office as the first President he stated the 
following, much like the prophetic warning Moses issued to Israel.

    "The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation 
that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven 
itself has ordained.

As summarized by Jonathan Cahn in his book The Harbinger, George 
Washington's statement can be understood as saying:

    "If America upholds God's eternal standards and follows His 
unchanging ways, then it will be blessed with His favor...His 
protection...His prosperity.....But if America should depart from the ways 
of God, if it should disregard His eternal standards, then the smiles 
of heaven, the blessings of God, will be withdrawn—its prosperity, it's 
protection, and its powers would be taken away.

What about God's grace and mercy?

Some may ask, "But what about God's grace and mercy?" Yes, God has 
shown great grace (favor) and mercy toward mankind throughout history. 
It was by God's grace that He warned Israel through numerous prophetic 
messages calling them back to Him. Yet we must realize that God's grace 
in providing for us is conditional, for He even tells us that He only 
gives grace to the humble, and resists the proud (James 4:6; 1 Pet. 
5:5). Pride is always at the root of rejecting God.

"Grace" is getting something we DON'T deserve, whereas "mercy" is not 
getting what we DO deserve. Grace never provides for toleration of sin. 
Not suffering the consequences of sin, that is, not getting what we 
deserve, happens when God extends His mercy. Thankfully He renews His 
mercy every day, because we certainly need it. God also says that He 
will have mercy on those to whom He wants to have mercy....it is always 
His prerogative and not something anyone is entitled to (Rom. 9:15). 
God has also told us that He will not be mocked. We should not think 
that we can reject God in our words and deeds and then not suffer for 
it. There may not be an immediate or even discernible consequence in 
our lives when we turn from God, but the nature of the spiritual battle 
is such that there are consequences for sin.

This is not a time to be discouraged

It is only natural for people to become downhearted and discouraged, 
and especially so when ungodly behavior and evil increases. God tells 
us that "when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding" (Prov. 
28:28). We can, and must, still pray for God to bless us and our nation 
even if there is a lot of wickedness in it. It is good to remind 
ourselves that throughout human history God has never been limited by a 
majority position.

In the book of 1 Samuel, Saul's son Jonathan approached a Philistine 
outpost. He perfectly expressed his position of faith in what he said 
to his armor bearer:

    1Samuel 14:6
    Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to 
the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act 
in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many 
or by few."

No professional gambler would ever consider it wise to accept a bet 
where the odds were stacked against him a thousand to one. And yet, in 
God's spiritual economy, odds like that are irrelevant.

    Joshua 23:9 and 10
    (9) "The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; 
to this day no one has been able to withstand you.
    (10) One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights 
for you, just as he promised.

We must remind ourselves that our struggle against unrighteousness in 
our nation is never a matter of "flesh and blood," but against the 
"spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Our battle must be 
waged on a spiritual level. If one righteous person can set a thousand 
to flee then God is telling us that we have the ability to affect the 
outcome of the spiritual battle on an exponential scale, but only when 
people return to God with our whole hearts.

    Joel 2:12 and 13
    (12) "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your 
heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
    (13) Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your 
God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding 
in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

God's heart to us is always saying, "Return to me!" If we as a nation 
will humble our hearts and seek God, (2 Chron. 7:14), He will be 
faithful to His promise to hear from heaven and heal our land.

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