As I write this, it’s the afternoon of July 4th. This morning, for the first time in ages, I was able to take the girls on a walk. Temp below 70 degrees and no rain.
Because of the holiday, I found myself ruminating on what it all meant to me, particularly given the current level of disunity in the political realm.
One doesn’t have to look far to see division and dissension in so many areas. For those of us who grew up in the “Mayberry” era, it can be hard to see how things will ever get much better.
Some will even say that God has taken his hand of favor off our country. Perhaps that is true, but this I know – God’s sovereign hand still guides not just this country, but the entire universe.
I realized that I was allowing the current state of affairs to color my long view of this country. I was becoming cynical.
My thoughts went back 250 years to the dreams and aspirations of those Founding Fathers, and the vision they had for a country where freedom wasn’t just an abstract idea, but something people could actually live out in countless ways.
Were the Founding Fathers perfect men? Of course not! But God has never had “perfect” people to work with as he moves forward with his divine agenda.
I reminded myself that God’s sovereignty was in full control not just 250 years ago, but since before the foundations of the world.
He has known the entire trajectory of this great nation and isn’t surprised by any current events. Nor has he turned control over to any other factions.
While “love of country” will never be greater than my love for God, I did have to ask him to forgive me for forgetting, and subsequently minimizing, the history that brings us to this 250th celebration.
Rather than just wanting to check out, I found myself seeking to remember all that I have loved about living in America.
So much of our history, from our nation’s earliest days so very long ago, to the signing of the Declaration of Independence decades ago, to the current state of our country – it’s all been and always will be part of God’s sovereign design.
Here’s how I might describe where I had recently landed in my “relationship” with my country.
It was like having a disagreement with a cherished family member or close friend and then viewing that relationship only through those last few days of discord. What about all the precious times that preceded that quarrel? Do they count for nothing?
Few of us would ever throw out that relationship because of a recent feud.
That perspective, all revealed on our early morning walk, changed the way I viewed the celebrations today. I wasn’t cynical, thinking that all is lost and our country is just slowly but decidedly sliding into the proverbial gutter.
I’m not saying, “happy days are here again,” because we do face some deep challenges as a country and amongst its citizens. But let’s also not forget the past that gave us so much to be grateful for.
I want to have a balanced, realistic perspective on this nation that I love. Not because it’s perfect, but because God has truly blessed America. And I know it’s under his guidance and sovereign goodness that we will move forward, regardless of what that future holds.
As I reflected on these thoughts today, my mind kept returning to the old hymn, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” Its closing prayer seems just as appropriate today as when it was written. We are only here and will only continue onward because of God’s good graces.
It was written in 1831 by Samuel Francis Smith, a twenty-four-year-old Baptist seminary student in Massachusetts. It was the unofficial national anthem until replaced by “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1931.
Verse 1
My country, ’tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From ev’ry mountainside, Let freedom ring!
Verse 2
My native country, thee, Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills, Like that above.
Verse 3
Let music swell the breeze, And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake; Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break, The sound prolong.
Verse 4
Our fathers’ God, to thee, Author of liberty,
To thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King.
May we long remember the beautiful and storied history of our early America and continue to pray for God’s guidance over our country and her citizens.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
Psalm 33:12
Leave a Reply