I am grateful for those of you who came out Monday night to intercede for our nation and for those of you who diligently prayed at home that God might be merciful and grant to us the leadership that we desire yet do not deserve. His mercies are truly new every morning.

Regardless of how you think the elections turned out, I want to remind us all that what is ultimately needed in America is revival and not just political reform. The great moral questions that we face are still extant. We may now have a few more voices in Congress that will vote against the continual taking of life and some genuine believers have been elected for which we give thanks to the Lord but the battle is far from over. We still face a tidal wave of moral degeneracy, the collapse of business honesty and ethics, a growing cadre of those who are poor and needy as well as a nation that has, for all practical purposes, shut out the true and living God from the public square (not to mention public buildings). We are not a nation “under God” even though most politicians still invoke the moniker of “God bless America” at the end of their speeches. To some extent, the change in the balance of power is a mandate to fix the economy but by no means is it a repeal of the ungodliness (and laws/policies that promote such) that grip the heart of many and is promoted through national policy. I rejoice that we may begin to turn back towards fiscal sanity but even if Congress passed a law today mandating an annual balanced budget it could not undo the debt we have accumulated (which, in itself, is a violation of biblical monetary principles). We have demanded that the piper play and we will eventually have to pay for living beyond our means. That may translate into hyper-inflation and/or other painful consequences but neither individually or nationally is it possible to violate God’s Word and not eventually experience the consequences of disobedience whether that’s in the realm of morality, ethics, finance, relationships or any other aspect of life on this planet. What one sows one reaps, which is as much a law of God’s universe as are the laws of nature.

So, please don’t think for a moment that it’s time for launching balloons and blowing kazoos. On the contrary! It is time for God’s people to continue to pray, humble themselves, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways as we beseech our Father to “restore this land” as He would define that phrase. Israel and Judah did not “have” to go into exile. Isaiah told them that “…the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” If the Lord’s people had turned to Him in repentance and faith, I think it’s fair to say that Jehovah would have turned to them in grace and mercy. But the idols had to go. The hypocritical and superficial worship had to stop. The open disdain of God’s Word from the palace to the people on the street had to come to an end evidencing a broken and contrite heart. Then the Lord would have healed their land but only then.