A wonderful devotional thought from the prophet Zechariah
And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
Zechariah 10:6
This is a wonderful comforting statement for nations as a whole, and individuals. Judah had been under punishment because of bad choices and sinful life, but look at what God says about them "they shall be as though I had not cast them off." Nations that have fallen away from the way God wants them to live, and thus have hit the wall of hard times can be restored to God's "good graces." It's a matter of turning back to Him, and His ways. Individuals, too, can be restored to a blessed relationship with God by returning from their back sliding through obedience.