Friendship with God
"If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
But certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!"Psalm 66:18-20
Whenever ancient Israel ignored God's truth and "did what was right in their own eyes," God withdrew His protection and, with grief, let His precious people experience "the full terrors of the pathway they had chosen." The devastating consequences were already built into His creation, They included wild animals, famines (due to drought, pests, climate changes...) and the natural inclinations of mankind's capricious human nature when untamed by moral boundaries and the Holy Spirit.
God doesn't change. Nor does human nature. We, like Israel, tend to forget that God (not clever people) is the One who has freed our nation from fear of famine and wild beasts. So, when we today ignore His ways. He once again withdraws His protection and turns us over to the natural consequences built into His creation. [See 1 Corinthians 10-1-13] Many may then recognize their need and appreciate His wise, loving and sovereign care for His people. [See America's Spiritual Slide]