Turn Toward What Matters
Around 957 B.C., after King Solomon spent years planning, building, and, finally dedicating the temple that his father, King David, had longed for—God made Himself known by sending fire down from heaven and filling the temple with His presence.
Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night, explaining how He’d heard his prayer and chosen his temple—reminding Solomon how the Israelites should respond when they encounter hard things. He said:
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT
Though this specific message was given to a specific people at a specific time in history—humbling ourselves, seeking God, and turning from our sins are timeless actions that we should continue to live out.
True humility, honest prayer, and genuine repentance are the keys to intimacy with God.
And we can’t fake it. We can’t just go through the motions. We can’t merely pretend to “look” humble and repentant … and we can’t do these things on our own.
We need to come to God in order to receive His help. We need Him in order to maintain a posture of humility, prayer, and repentance.
So if you’ve found yourself feeling distant from God, trying to do things your own way, or intentionally running in the opposite direction of your Creator—it’s not too late to turn around.
You can still come to God, admit that you can’t go through life alone, and seek His help. He’s a loving, forgiving, and healing Father who specializes in making all things new. He never stops inviting us to draw near to Him.
“They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; Therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, To the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly Wait for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear The yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, Because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust; If so be there may be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: He is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not Cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion According to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly Nor grieve the children of men.”
Lamentations 3:23-33 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/lam.3.23-33.KJV