Habakkuk heard God’s five woes pronounced upon the nation, and he responded with a prayer asking God to revive His work in their midst.
O Lord, I have heard of your renown,
and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.
In our own time revive it;
in our own time make it known;
in wrath may you remember mercy. Habakkuk 3.1-2
In 1995, I participated in an event in Los Angeles where several thousand individuals gathered for three days with a singular focus: to earnestly seek a revival in America through prayer.
This event was a high-water experience in my life. I followed it the next year, seeking God with others to bring revival to our nation.
Nearly 20 years later, as we observe the state of America, it is evident that revival has not occurred in our nation. We do well to ask God, “Lord, why has revival not come to America?”
Today, I listened to a sermon by Henry Blackaby, delivered at Billy Graham’s Retreat Center, in which he explored the reasons behind the delay in revival. Let’s consider some of his insights.
It’s too late for America.
Like Habakkuk, Jeremiah lived in an era marked by continuous disobedience and idolatry among God’s people, despite receiving warnings from the prophets.
There was a moment when God instructed Jeremiah to cease his prayers for the people. To underscore this directive, God stated that He would not listen even if Moses and Samuel were to intercede on their behalf.
The Lord said to me: Do not pray for the welfare of this people.
Although they fast, I do not hear their cry, and although they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I do not accept them, but by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence I consume them (Jeremiah 14:11-12).
Then the Lord said to me: Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! (Jeremiah 15:1).
Jesus lived his entire life in intimate communion with the Heavenly Father. He knew the Father’s will better than anyone. While others cheered his arrival in Jerusalem, Jesus wept over it because he knew the time had come for judgment.
As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19.41-42).
We do well to take these Bible passages to heart and bring them in prayer to the Father. Let’s ask Him, “God, what are you doing in America and how can I align my life with your plans and purposes?”
Jeremiah’s Message for Today
God never brings judgment upon people without having just cause. God gave Habakkuk 5 “woes” that outlined the nation’s sins. In the case of Jeremiah, Chapter 2 highlights God’s reason for judgment.
As we consider this, let’s ask ourselves, “Is there anything in this passage that speaks to me? How can I adjust my life to the message?”
Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they went far from me
and went after worthless things and became worthless themselves?
They did not say, “Where is the Lord,
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,
where no one lives?” Jeremiah 2.4-6
The first phrase says, “Hear the word of the Lord.” God will always speak to us when we ask Him to tell us what’s going on.
Notice the problem: The people of God found something wrong with God and turned from Him to what was worthless. As a result, they became worthless.
No longer did they seek God, but they sought things that were substitutes for God.
Blackaby recommends that we allocate a period of time each morning to cultivate our love relationship with God and to discern His assignment for their day.
Unfortunately, many people, pastors included, fail to follow this practice today, mirroring the situation during Jeremiah’s era.
The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?”
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after things that do not profit. Jeremiah 2.8
God Forsaken
People understand God’s judgment as being forsaken by God. On the other hand, judgment comes because people walk away from God and forsake Him.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked; be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2.11-13
To paraphrase Blackaby for 2024: “God always speaks through His people. America is a reflection of what is going on with God’s people. The condemnation is not against politics, nor against the woke agenda of a nation.
“It is against God’s people who have lost their saltiness. If God can’t get the attention of His people, He certainly will not be able to get the attention of a lost world.”
It’s as if God is saying to us, “I am the fountain of living water. Why do you go anywhere else but to me to find it?”
God continues His judgment against the people because they have forsaken Him. However, He adds that they no longer have the fear of the Lord.
Your wickedness will punish you,
and your faithlessness will convict you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
for you to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
says the Lord God of hosts. Jeremiah 2.19
I think the best understanding of the fear of the Lord involves three things.
(1) We live in a love relationship with God. God tells us in Deuteronomy 6 that we are to love Him with all of our being.
(2) We come to Him humbly. Like Blackaby frequently says, we find out where God is working and what is His agenda, and we align our lives with that.
(3) The fear of the Lord always involves obedience. We do what He tells us to do.
We can’t guarantee that revival will come to America, but we at least can be walking with Him through whatever takes place.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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