“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.”
Revelation 22:21 (NASB)
The birth of our nation is a David and Goliath story. Goliath was Great Britain, the most powerful military superpower in the world, and young David armed with nothing but a slingshot, was the thirteen young colonies of America, fighting for their independence.
The fight for our freedom took courage like David’s, but America’s battle wasn’t won with a single shot to the head, from a stone and a slingshot.
Our independence was won after more than eight years, from 1775 to 1783, at the cost of over 25,000 lives, before a peace agreement was finally signed, and the thirteen colonies became the United States of America.
Some sad outcomes of our new nation were that the native Indians were displaced and pushed out of their lands. Slavery was a gross injustice, motivated by greed, and to top it off, our country became divided against itself during the Civil war.
The birth of a nation is like the birth of a human being. As a person can become lost and broken, but is still redeemable, so it is with a nation.
A person learns from their mistakes as they grow, and so does a new nation. Both are capable of making bad choices, struggling with vices, and falling into sin, but both can also recognize and overcome their faults. Both need to be willing to continually change, and with God’s grace and patience, they will succeed.
God put courage in the hearts of all those who started this nation, and He isn’t finished with us yet. We can overcome any unfruitfulness and become fruitful again.
The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Roman’s 11:29)
America was called to be a light to the world and we have also been called to be a light to our world. Our gifts and our calling stay with us, and they’re irrevocable.
America is not perfect and neither are we, but as the song says,
“God shed His grace on thee”,
and we are certainly lost without His grace.
Lord, thank you for protecting this country, and we pray you continue to shed your grace upon it as well as on each one of us. Amen
Happy 4th of July tomorrow!