Day 2011 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV

Here we are yet again. We're sitting here tonight as one more of our nation's cities burns. One more night of civil unrest. One more moment of rage and uncontrolled aggression. One more day of violence. One more case of looting. One more day of continuing to run in the wrong direction as fast as our selfish and sin-prone hearts will take us. This thing seems to just be the norm anymore, and I don't really have the words to express how much I don't understand any of it.

When are we going to learn that this way of living and behaving just ain't working? When will we see that more hatred and more darkness only makes the problem grow bigger and bigger? When we will finally see the sin and brokenness that has infiltrated our hearts and minds to the point that riots, violence, and hate-filled messages are common? When we it get through to us that there's one big piece missing to this puzzle that we're blindly trying to put together?

We've been talking about how we need to humbly follow God's will and plan for our lives. Humility and accepting the fact that life isn't about us or our desires is the first step in down the road that leads to healing and freedom. Letting go of past mistakes, current struggles, and long-time shortcomings is another step in the right direction. Letting go of the darkness that has consumed our lives and pleading for God's help to do better moving forward is another step.

The point is that we have to start moving. Doing the same thing over and over is getting us nowhere but further from the peace and unity that we crave. While one more city is brought to its knees, one group is blaming another who's blaming them in return. There's plenty of stones being thrown, but very little actual progress being made. Again, when will we see that continuing to go this direction will only make things worse?

God didn't design humanity for this kind of stuff. He created us with a far more beautiful vision in mind. But we pretty much took it upon ourselves to do things our way from the get-go, and it's been a greased ball of garbage rolling downhill ever since. If we truly hope for better, then we have to turn back to God and beg for the healing that only His love can bring. There is no other option that can lead us to the better world and better lives that we're all looking for.

There will always be evil in this world. But it does not have to win. It doesn't have to erase the good that is there too. It doesn't have to kill the hope of better. Friends, the answer is God. It has always and will always be God. Not hate. Not violence. Not burning things down. Not stealing. Not screaming. Not passing blame. Not throwing stones. The answer is God. If we want better, turn to God. If you want better in your life, turn to God. If we want healing, again, turn to God. This unrest won't solve a thing. Only turning back to God, putting our anger and misunderstandings aside, and humbling ourselves before God can truly help. There is healing, and this verse reminds us of that. But it will never be found by adding more hurt.