Blessed is the Nation

[HKHaugan]

“Blessed is the Nation Whose God is the Lord (Ps.33:12).”
“…the people He chose for His inheritance.”

For the last several postings I have railed at what I believe to be the pre-downfall condition of our society, the collapse of what we know as America. It is not the concept of America. Rather it is the condition of the hearts of the people that dwell within its geography. Their hearts have been seduced by the promise of momentary satisfaction, instant gratification and a new state religion whose belief is that the government is there to supply all our needs.

The America I grew up in was a concept found in its documents, its history and its heritage. America was the faith of its early settlers, the struggle to carve out a new beginning, a people who brought a reformed faith and a willingness to try something unique. America was the dream of a number of hearts who left the security of old cultural forms to be open to the formation of a new culture, a day to day trust that something new could be expected, something they were building, new with every new generation.

This was not multiculturalism, riddled with the preservation of rigid foreign cultural forms in America, but leaving old cultures behind and becoming part of a new culture by adopting a new language, a new education, a new freedom to explore and discover new ways of living and communicating. Everyone came new expecting to adjust to whatever they found here. When their ships arrived in New York harbor there was an excitement, an expectation and a new kind of joy. Laughter and tears mixed in on the gangplanks as each step down brought a new flurry of upward emotion. And that is what my family experienced when they came from Norway. Norway was old history. America was the experience of the new. No class system, no national religion, no social or economic boundaries could bind you here even when it was tried. Every day was a new experience, what you made of it with who you were and in an environment that welcomed hard work and a ‘look forward’ attitude.

Spiritually America was a hope to be free from institutional dictatorial religion. Being colonial then was a good idea. It meant arriving in a place where there were no religious boundaries to faith in God. It was His Word in the hearts of settlers and the communities formed from it. It was new as in New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New London, New Bedford, Newport, Newcastle, Newtown, Queens County and Kings County. The old names were being baptized for something new that would happen. The past was not forgotten just put in its proper place.

Economy became entrepreneurial and free enterprise blossomed to lay the groundwork for financing the most advanced philanthropic civilization in history. Behind it was a foundation of faithful people, Christians, Deists, biblically driven people whose principles were hard work, sacrifice and trust that promised a future for families. That entrepreneurial urge spread to the establishment of schools, businesses, professions and even the formation of denominations to spread the Gospel.

In the hard conflict of revolution against, and freedom from, hardened class, religious, social and economic barriers, America was born. All the signers of its original formative documents died poor but what they fought for emerged through their sacrifice buoyed by faith. America is here because the great bulk of its early settlers were faithful to God and what they believed was His will for them.

Of course everyone was a sinner. Everyone fell short of the reality of faith but in spite of that God established His presence as the concept that grows through faith in Him. America grew because of its spiritual base. And that is what has been rejected. Abortion, sexual, ethnic, gender and racial exploitation have become idols. Israel is a distant problem and Jesus was a nice man but presently irrelevant. The majority has spoken and history repeats itself but who cares? No one reads it anymore anyway. History is me, me, me.

The lust for political power has replaced biblical principles. The fear of offense has confused immigrants and resulted in them retaining their cultural rigidity and religious forms. American leadership never apologized for being American. What were once ethnic and racial clubs have become ghettoes of suspicion and distrust. Thus political manipulation with its promotion of social paranoia has replaced spiritual faith as the national theme of the majority. Salvation through politics is the order of the day, the promoter of the idea that salvation is instant gratification; the false promise that all I need is to vote for someone who will give me what the world owes me. Forget life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Pursuit? You’ve got to be kidding. They should be provided when we are born. This is the atmosphere that only a renewed faith can change.

It is this atmosphere that carries the spirit of the anti-Christ and only repentance, an awakened sense of our real mission to be disciples of Jesus and sharers of Him on an interpersonal level, that can change this atmosphere. The only way to change is to go backwards to the Scripture in order to go forwards in the world. God has something new waiting just around the corner for the repentant, the believer, the forgiven, the conscious disciples who, as a faithful remnant, repeat the age old truth that newness comes in Jesus alone. America needs rebirth the same as we do. America needs to be born again and that can only happen when its people’s hearts are reborn spiritually. It’s not what I want but what God wants. The future is a mission God gives us. Will we accept it?

Now for the rest of the story Psalm 33 continues,
13“From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

[Karen McMahon]

Thank you, Whitey.  This is so beautifully described.  <3