Called People

If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, then will I hear from heaven and heal their land.  II Chronicles 7:14

We read this and cry out for forgiveness and healing of our land, or country.  At least this is what I have witnessed throughout my life.  But a closer look reveals something a bit more intense, in my opinion.
If My people, who are called by My name...It takes a humble spirit to take on someone else's name.  To do so states that you trust that taking their name in place of your own is to your benefit.  When a wife takes her husband's name, she is saying she believes it is better to leave all she has ever known and experience life with him.
And pray and seek My face...prayer is communication with God.  We can throw words at Him and hope He hears and answers, or we can tell Him our heart's desire and then search His face in order to see His eyes and watch as He forms the words of His answer so that we REALLY hear what he has to say regarding our issues.  Seeking His face means we truly desire to hear and understand His answer.
As His bride, shouldn't we WANT to hear what He has to say?
And turn from their wicked ways...In order to really seek His face we MUST turn away from all the other faces with voices that cry out to us to do things "our way."  We must trust that whatever is not God's way is going to lead us astray.  The bride must turn from those she has been interested in in the past in order to face the future with the man she trusts most.
THEN will I hear from heaven and heal their land.  It will be an automatic response.  It is a promise.
When a wife takes her husband's name, she becomes his joint heir.  Whatever he inherits becomes hers as well.  This became abundantly clear to me over the past couple of months.  When my husband's mom passed away, He became heir to 1/6 of her estate.  I will share in that inheritance.
When a person takes on the name of Christ, they become joint heirs with Him of all that the Father owns.....EVERYTHING!!  However, just as it takes a lot of work gaining that inheritance (cleaning, selling, sharing, etc.) it takes a lot of work to gain our full inheritance from God.  We can enter heaven and hear the words, "Well done my good and faithful servant," and be placed in charge of many things (Matthew 25:21) or it can be like simply escaping through fire. (I Corinthians 3:15)
As His bride, I want to share in everything He has for me, now and forever.  Eternity began for me the moment I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord.  Ephesians 5:22 tells me to submit (choose obedience - not forced) to my husband as I do to the Lord.  That tells me I can practice submitting my life to Christ by submitting to my husband.  That does NOT mean my husband is to Lord it over me as "boss man" but rather that he is to love me as Christ loved the Church and was willing to give His life for her. (Ephesians 5:25-28)
If we truly want God to heal our land, it must begin in us! If we take His name and call ourselves Christian, then we must accept the fact that He is our Groom. We must share with Him and look Him in the "eyes" through the study of His word, truly seeking what it is He has to say to us personally.  We must turn away from our selfish past and trudge joyfully alongside Him, working, playing and resting as He leads.  THEN our land will automatically be healed, at least our personal land will, as our homes begin to be filled with love and acceptance as we practice our faith through the sanctity of marriage.  As husbands give their all in order to reveal their love to their wives, wives will cheerfully choose to become all that the husband desires.  Communication will flow from eye contact and full attention.  Marriages will heal and homes (our land) will be rescued from destruction.
Lord, when I cry out to You to heal our land, help me remember that it begins with me.  I can choose to emulate all You desire for us through the way I relate to my spouse in marriage.  Help me remember that others are seeking answers through watching our lives.  May our marriage reveal the answers they need.