Is America in a crisis?
Our nation is in a crisis. Our traditional values have become outdated and antiquated according to some. The liberty and freedom that were so associated with the United States of America are now tarnished ideas from an empire out of history’s past. So, what happened to our beloved America? I believe the answer can be found in scripture in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah is one of the major prophets of the Old Testament. He wrote about judgement coming to the nation of Judah, and I believe what he wrote so many years ago aptly describes why America is no longer the America of my youth.
Look what Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 59 : 1 - 4 (NKJV).
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity. 4 No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
I will return to verse 1 shortly, but notice what separated Judah from God. Judah was separated from God by her iniquities or sins, and I believe the same holds true today with the United States of America. You see, I am one of those Neanderthals that believes that America was founded by men and women who were inspired by God to seek out this place, and those men and women founded a nation based on a belief in God Almighty, but like Judah from the past, our iniquities have separated us from God. So, the question becomes this. What iniquities have separated us from God? The answer is found in Isaiah 59 : 3 - 4.
Using what Isaiah wrote, let me tell you why America is in this crisis. Firstly, our hands are defiled with blood. Since January 22, 1973, our nation has murdered legally millions of babies. That iniquity on its own merits would separate us from God. Jesus, Himself, said to not suffer the little ones from coming to Him, and yet, America has legally murdered 50 million babies, but not only do we have abortion’s blood on our hands, but we also have the highest murder rate in the industrialized world. Any society that so cheapens the value of human life cannot expect to be blessed by God.
Secondly, truth is foreign to our lips. Our society today embraces the lie over the truth. Our politicians are not honest. Jesus said He was the truth, and a society that has rejected Him will embrace the lies of this world, and that is exactly what America has done.
Thirdly, there is not an outcry for justice. Murderers walk free from America’s courts today. Abortion is called a choice. Justice is supposed to be blind but not in America. Today, in America, justice is based on color, and when Lady Justice has her blindfold removed, you have no justice.
I said I would return to verses 1 and 2. Those verses say that God is still able to hear our prayers. He is still able to reach down and help us in our time of need, but He cannot because those iniquities have separated the nation from Him. So, what is the answer? As with all problems, the solution is found in the Bible in a verse often quoted but not often followed.
2 Chronicles 7 : 14
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.
America is in a crisis. A crisis of unmatched magnitude has crept into the very soul of America. Will God’s people do as 2 Chronicles 7 : 14 says? Will our iniquities continue to separate us from God?