America at 250: Why Are We Blessed?

This week, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. For a quarter of a millennium, our nation has been immensely blessed by God. Why are we blessed?

There are likely many reasons. Here are a few.

America is blessed because God is good.

Scripture tells us, 'every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17).' The gifts we receive come from God. This nation, the nations of the world, you, me—we are all blessed because God is good and God is gracious. In fact, God’s benevolence is so plentifully extravagant and abundant, 'the rain falls on the just and unjust (Matthew 5:45).'

Every good thing we have comes from God. Those are blessings: food, clean water, clothes, a roof over our heads, good relationships with friends and family, a church we call home, life and liberty, and whatever else you can think of that's good, are all blessings from God. We as a nation have been given so much that is good. America is blessed because God is good.

Secondly, America is blessed because we have always acknowledged God.

From our genesis, we have affirmed God’s sovereignty and embraced His promises. One such promise is captured within Psalm 33:12: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

This verse is both contextual and transcendent. Of course, it’s true for the people of God in the Old Testament (it’s applicable to Israel and the surrounding nations). These words are also, however, a universal promise. God’s Blessing is available to any nation at any time in history.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

The nation.

There’s no specificity here. Geography and chronology are inherently irrelevant in this profoundly timeless text. The grace of Almighty God is available to every nation in the world (past, present, future) that submits to His Lordship.

When a nation, when a group of people, when a country comes together and recognizes and acknowledges the God of creation as their God, and they seek and strive to follow His will, there is a certain blessing that comes upon the people (and the land) in addition to (and above and beyond) the common blessings received simply because God is good and gracious.

Time and time again our Founding Fathers and Mothers believed God was good and that blessings came from Him. Additionally, they believed that when a nation (or even a small group such as a remnant within that nation) wholeheartedly acknowledges the Creator, believes in the importance of following His will, and calls on people to do the same, there are certain divine provisions that are shed upon that nation.

America’s Founders affirmed God as Lord. This reality is evident within our historical documents, like the Declaration of Independence, where Thomas Jefferson writes,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

In the introduction to one of the most impactful documents in world history, there’s an immediate acknowledgment of God as our Creator.

If you look at other historical documents from our Founding Fathers (diaries, journals, newspapers, letters, and books) you will find a consistent acknowledgment that there is one God and those who follow Him are blessed beyond measure.

In proclaiming the nation's first Federal Day of Prayer, George Washington said,

It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.

Like the other Founding Fathers, George Washington believed a nation that acknowledges God and seeks to follow His will, His way, and His Word is a favored country. He also recognized another reason for God's blessing upon a nation: God’s providence.

America is blessed through God’s providence.

As Washington emphasized, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge divine agency and grace at work within the world. Throughout American history, we can see the hand of God's providence at work in ways that are difficult to explain.

This nation, for whatever reason, has experienced the miraculous over and over again. If you examine the beginnings of our nation, particularly the activities leading up to and during the Revolutionary War, as well as the same regarding the War of 1812, you will find moments when supernatural occurrences intervened and paved the way for American victories.

For whatever reason, God has shown favor and blessing upon a people who acknowledged His presence and involvement in America’s beginnings, and God did the seemingly impossible so that He might set apart a nation as a beacon of freedom in a world of oppression.

The thirteen colonies were far from perfect. Yet, there were a handful of people passionate about gaining independence. They were great leaders who came together as one. They were fervent, tenacious, smart, and strategic. They formed a militia that was molded into an army by George Washington and others.

And this ragamuffin army defeated the most powerful empire in the world. In fact, they defeated, arguably, one of the greatest empires in world history. There was a time when it was said, “the sun never sets on the British Empire.” They had territories and nations under their control all across the globe.

And yet, somehow, some way, a group of ragtag officers and soldiers (many with very little formal military experience, if any) defeated trained soldiers who were experts in warfare and had made a practice of conquering and establishing nations around the world.

America’s victory over the British was nothing short of miraculous.

While Jefferson was penning the Declaration of Independence, God was writing a story unlike any one before or since in regards to the affairs of governance. The hand of God was in motion in America long before any shot was fired.

There is another reason why this nation has experienced a measure of grace above and beyond what could be expected. Prayer.

America is blessed by God because people pray.

Throughout nearly every period of our history, there has always been a body of believers, faithful followers of our Lord JesusChrist, who came together to call on the name of the Lord.

With great fervency they prayed, embracing 2 Chronicles 7:14:

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

For some divine reason beyond our understanding, prayer moves the heart and hand of God. This has been, and still is, self-evident to many in America.

America has been extraordinarily blessed by God throughout our history, and we are still blessed today.

As we celebrate our semiquincentennial this week, I pray God continues to “Shed His grace on thee.”