(This is pretty much a re-post from last year, but my thoughts are still the same, so I am posting it again.)
I hope that each of you Americans reading this will have a glorious
Fourth of July celebrating the birthday of our beloved country! Whether
you celebrate with family, friends, or church family, whether you are
here on US soil or elsewhere, whether you're enjoying a picnic, a
parade, fireworks, or possibly even a meaningful visit to a cemetery, I hope that each of you will take a moment
sometime throughout the day to thank God for the land He has blessed us
to be able to live in. Our country has many serious problems and flaws,
but it is still a wonderful place to live and we enjoy many blessings here which
we often take for granted. The wonderful song "America the
Beautiful" includes these powerful words:
God mend thine every flaw.
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!"
I've often been reminded -- and it happened again when we sang this in church this morning -- that truly, God is the only One who can mend our flaws -- but we have to want that to happen and we need to beseech God that it will happen. I've often thought, too, how so many of our citizens are so confused concerning the balance between liberty and self-control. Our land offers us many freedoms, yet we take them for granted and many times do not see the need to exercise self-control or self-restraint in any area of life. We want what we want, when we want it, and then when we meet the inevitable consequences of our lack of self-control, we expect our government to take care of us.
Our flaws have never been more obvious, it seems, and never have I been more aware of how fragile our liberties are and how easily they can be snatched away. Let's take time today to beseech God to help us "mend our flaws" as a nation, and to thank Him for the privilege of living in this land.
Today I'm also sharing a few links to previous Fourth of July posts that might be fun or encouraging reads on this meaningful day.
From 2019: Independence Day Medley
From 2018: Praying for our country
From 2017: July 4 Hodgepodge
From 2016: This Land is Our Land
Hope you'll enjoy them!
Happy Independence Day! I hope you had a blessed an peaceful day. We pray for our nation daily. Praying for the eyes of the blind to be opened before it is too late, both for them personally and for our nation as well. May God definitely mend our flaws...Amen.
ReplyDeleteYes! We had a wonderful Independence Day, celebrating our God given Freedom!
ReplyDeleteWe are so blessed to live in this great country! We pray that the Lord's hand would continue to guide this nation, as the founding fathers so desired!
ReplyDelete